From One to Another
by Msterope
Summary: Here's a ticket, come on in! Please enjoy the show, the soap opera that is the Jellicle life. New shocks as the story continues. Part 32 is on it's way. : R
1. Part 1

**From One to Another**

_A Jellicle High School Story_

"I'm sorry baby-cakes, but this is the way it has to be."

"You asshole! I knew you'd do it... I knew you'd do it!" A tall, charming-looking tom sat across a small restaurant table with a white queen's paw in his own. The thin body of the queen, clothed in a plain pale lavender tank top and a tight black skirt. Her long, slender legs ended in spiked black heels and her feathery white tail was wrapped around her calves. The tom, whose brown and gold tinted hair flowed down either side of his lean, handsome face, wasn't even looking at the sobbing queen, and shifted the collar of his slightly oversized black leather jacket. The letters "J.H" adorned the right breast in scarlet and underneath the jacket was a plain white t-shirt. Under the table, the tom's legs were conveniently on the opposite end of the bench from the queen's and were covered with relaxed fitted jeans. The white and black sneakers he wore were snuggly laced.

"If you knew it, why didn't you just..." The queen stood up, slapping the tom harshly across the face with a sob.

"Because I loved you! I loved you dammit, Tugger! You're such an asshole!" With that, the slender white queen stalked out of the restaurant, sobbing heavily. Her shoulder-length blue-white hair flowed around her shoulders.

"Sickening, isn't it?" Demeter's green eyes came up from her fries to examine Bombalurina's slender face. The scarlet queen's blue eyes were fixed on Tugger and Deme rolled her eyes silently.

"Uhm-hmm..." She muttered, taking more fries out of the basket before her and putting them in her mouth. Bomba absently reached for them and took three out of the basket and brought them to her lipstick-slicked lips. Her long, wavy red hair was streaked with gold, black and white, framing her slender and delicately boned face. Her blue eyes were thickly lined with liner and mascara, the heavy lashed blinking every so often as the light reflected off the irridescent green covering her lids. Without even the slightest glance at her friend, Bomba continued to inspect the now sulking tom.

"I mean, look at him! He's so... full of himself. Dumping poor Vicky without a reason other than he was bored. Seriously..." Demeter let a smile curl the edges of her full mouth and she snickered. Bomba looked over at her with a raised eyebrow and leaned against the table so her full chest pressed against her thin white blouse lightly.

"What? You have something to say?" Demeter grinned at Bomba when her mouth wasn't full and then leaned over the table to look directly into her eyes.

"He just... reminds me of someone I know almost exactly. When they get bored with their toys, they just leave. How long has it been now with your newest toy? Three, maybe four days?" Bomba gave an indignant flick of her hair and glowered at Demeter over the edge of her cup. When she set down the glass with a definite click, Bombalurina smirked.

"Going on a week with Alonzo, but really, he's always doing the same thing. 'Wanna go to the movies, Bomba?' or 'Hey Bomba, wanna go catch the ice cream parlor before it closes?'. Honestly, any more ice cream and I'm not going to fit into my cheerleading uniform." Demeter rolled her olive-green eyes and went back to the fries. Bomba looked back at Tugger and felt a flutter of excitement go through her when she saw that Tugger was looking her way.

"Ooh! He's looking! He's looking!" Demeter looked over her shoulder, pushing her chin-length black, golden and slightly reddish-tinted hair away from her eyes. Brown eyes locked onto her rounder face and Deme felt a flush rise in her cheeks. Turning back to Bomba, she grabbed more fries.

"Then why don't you go and talk to him?" Bomba was already preening, smoothing a pampered paw over her long hair. Her blue eyes went to her friend's green ones and her smile grew.

"You think? I mean, what about Alonzo?" Demeter grinned at her friend and patted her paw.

"He'll get over it..." With that Bombalurina was on her feet, and strutting over to Tugger's table, leaving Demeter with the rest of the fries. "I hope..."

Demeter switched seats and munched on the fries while she snorted and snickered at Bomba's antics with Tugger.

"A player for a player; that's going to be an interesting match. Wonder how long it's going to last?"


	2. Part 2

**Part Two**

Come Monday morning, the hallways were buzzing with gossip. Demeter was standing at her locker when Victoria, Etcetera and Electra walked up; towing Demeter's younger sister, Jemima with them. Victoria, Etcetera and Electra were sophmores, and Jemima was just a freshman, but they all stuck together. Demeter looked at Vicky with pity in her eyes.

"I hear Bomba's dating Tugger now, what happened to Alonzo?" The snide tone in the white queen's voice made Demeter's fur sponge. Turning her body towards the younger queen, Deme's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Watch what you say about Bomba, Vicky. I don't deal well with jealous, bitchy queens. And if you're going to drag Jemima into this, don't bother. I don't think Tugger and Bomba are going to last a week." Victoria's right eyebrow came up and Cettie giggled in the background. Electra folded her arms over her flat chest and her amber-colored eyes narrowed onto Demeter's face and she snorted.

"That's lovely talk about your best friend, Deme. You sure you really don't care about Tugger?" Demeter turned her fiery olive green eyes towards Electra and snarled.

"Shut your mouth, youngen. I won't hesitate to toss you into a garbage can... and send Tugger over to get you out." Electra's eyes widened and color rose in her cheeks. Cettie giggled again and received a sharp elbow in the side. The white tabby princess pouted, rubbing the spot gingerly.

"Whatcha do that for?" Etcetera complained in a nasaly voice. Jemima stood behind the three sophmores and looked at her sister through dark blue eyes lined with thick black lashes. Demeter sighed, closed her locker and stepped around the group, motioning for Jemima to follow her.

"You hang out with them, why?" She asked, looking at her younger sister. Jemima shrugged, putting her arm around Demeter's waist when the older queen put her own around Jemima's shoulders.

"They just accepted me into their group. Do you really think that Tugger and Bomby won't last?" Demeter sighed, her eyes coming up when someone gasped. She bit her lip against a groan when she spotted Macavity, the toughest tom in school, coming towards her. His long ginger and black hair flowed around his face, pulled back by a bandana with skulls and marijuana leaves on it. He wore an oversized t-shirt and baggy jeans with a pair of ratty sneakers. Macavity smelt as foul as the leaves on his bandana, and wore a sneer colder than the skulls. His arm went to the lockers, blocking the path of the two queens. Macavity trailed his free paw up Demeter's arm, making her skin crawl.

"Hey gorgeous... why don't you and me scram and find somewhere warm to curl up." Demeter pulled away as if Macavity was a snake. Jemima was pushed behind her sister protectively and Deme glared at Macavity.

"Don't you take a hint? Like, the first half a million times?" Demeter's voice was low and colder than ice, her canine teeth showing with her lip curled back in disgust. Macavity chuckled, taking a step forward, but he stopped when someone pressed against Demeter's side; putting their paw on her shoulder. Demeter looked up and smiled in relief when her boyfriend, Plato, stood there.

"You know, Mackie, there are other queens in the school... who don't have boyfriends." Macavity snorted, shoved his paws into his pockets and cast one look at Jemima. She cowered behind her sister and watched the senior with wide eyes. Demeter wanted to wretch when she saw Macavity run his tongue along his teeth and grin.

"You're right, Plato... you have no idea how right you are." Macavity laughed, turning and walking back towards the door. Demeter gripped her sister's shoulder gently and smiled at her.

"Don't worry; you're well taken care of here, sis. Old Bushy-Butt Mackie won't touch you, y'hear?" Demeter crooned, pulling Jemima into a hug. Jemima nodded quietly, her eyes following Macavity until he exited. She wasn't afraid of him, per say, but his reputation did follow him to a heartbeat. Demeter pulled back and held Jemima by the shoulders at arm's length.

"Come on, I'll walk you to class." The two set off with Plato following behind, his paw lightly touching Demeter's arm.


	3. Part 3

**Part Three**

Lunchtime started to come around and Demeter was starting to wonder what was really happening between Tugger and Bomba. The pair were still not at school, and Demeter rolled her eyes when her English teacher, Mrs Jellylorum, called on Bomba more than once. The butter-colored tabby looked at Demeter critically with her sky-blue eyes. Her pale blond hair, which was starting to turn white, was pulled back into a tight bun at the nape of her neck.

"Demeter, have you seen Bombalurina today?" Demeter sighed, shaking her head slowly. Jelly mirrored the sigh, turning and starting to write on the blackboard.

English class ended and Demeter walked out into the halls. She went to her locker, stuffed her back and binder inside, and then went outside. She spotted a group of people gathered at the entrance of the student parking lot and her eyebrow went up.

"What in the name of..." Deme muttered, making her way over there. Jemima turned to her with a roll of her eyes and a wide grin. Etcetera was on her tip-toes, and Demeter could only imagine what was on the other side of the wall.

"Incoming!" She said, pushing through and coming face to face with Bomba and Tugger. Bombalurina had her slender right paw on Tugger's chest, and the light from the sun shone off a fair sized pink stone. Demeter identified the stone immediately as a rosy quartz and she folded her arms over her chest; completely unimpressed. Bomba detached herself from the tall, lithe tom's side and rushed over to Demeter.

"Deme, oh Deme! Look, lookie, lookie! Isn't it just the greatest thing? Tugger bought it for me this morning..." She was grinning like an idiot and pushed her free paw through her hair when Deme grabbed her wrist to take a good look at the ring. With a snort, Demeter let Bomba's paw fall and looked up into her friend's eyes.

"You missed two tests for a ring?" Bombalurina didn't miss the venomous tone in Demeter's voice and cringed. Tugger watched, his long brown hair flowing in front of his face and making him look dashing, but with a touch of danger added. His brown eyes were locked on Demeter, but she ignored him. Etcetera was standing on Tugger's other side, her eyes wide as she leant against her knuckles and babbled nonsense.

"Seriously Bomba! You're the one who wants to go to University and get your degree in cosmetology. Have you even started to look into what the requirements are?" Bomba huffed a bit and frowned down at Demeter. The shorter gold and black didn't flinch at the cold stare, but rather returned it.

"No, but you know we have almost a year to do that." Demeter rolled her eyes and reached up, cuffing Bomba lightly across the ear. Bomba yelped, taking a step back from her friend. "Ow! What was that for?"

"For being an idiot! Bomba, I've looked into the stupid thing for you; mostly because I expected you'd wait until the last minute and just fiddle your way through it." Demeter ignored the hurt pout. "Anyhow, to get into the courses you were looking at you need: English, Math, Art of some kind and another option course. If you don't show up to Math or English, Bomba, you're not going to pass. What the heck will you do when you have to come back another year?"

"Oh come on, Deme! You're totally overreacting here! I'll pass... it was just one day." Demeter let her eyes go to where Bomba's current boy-toy was sitting, and was slightly unnerved to find him still looking at her with those calm brown eyes. His lips curled into a seductive smile, getting a raised eyebrow from the shorter queen.

"At any rate, Bomba, if you continue to hang off of Tugger, you're going to end up just like Macavity." She said, pleased when Bomba snarled.

"I'm no Macavity... I'm so much hotter!" Demeter didn't catch the laugh that came out and then the pair started to snicker. Bomba put her arm around Deme's shoulders and sighed.

"I'm here now, aren't I? Anyway, I'll be there tomorrow. Tugger's going to Hawaii for two weeks, so I have nowhere else to go." Demeter looked up at her friend with concern as they made their way back to sit on the hood of Tugger's flashy red sportscar.


	4. Part 4

**Part Four**

Demeter was sitting on the bench nearest the parking lot after school, waiting for Plato to come out. When she spotted him, Demeter's heart fell. Something about the way he was walking told her that this wasn't going to be a normal drive home. Plato walked up to her and absently kissed her on the forehead, making his way over to his green truck. Demeter put her backpack into the back of the truck, closing the small compartment that Plato had put in for that purpose. She waited for the door to unlock and climbed in.

"Okay Plato... what's going on?" She asked when they were driving. The brown and white tom sighed, shaking his beach-boy styled brown and black hair out of his face. His brown eyes turned to Demeter, emotions running through them faster than Demeter could deceifer them.

"I can't do this anymore, Deme." Shock came first, and Demeter felt her mouth fall open.

"Uhh... excuse me? Can't do what anymore?" Plato sighed, stopping and leaning back at a red light. Deme's eyes started to burn with tears, she knew what was coming.

"Us... this. I'm sorry, Deme. I just don't feel the same anymore. Please don't cry!" Plato's voice turned to alarm when a fat round tear rolled down Demeter's right cheek. She whipped her head towards the window and just stared out, chewing absently on one of her nails.

"Aww, come on Demeter! You can't possibly tell me that this meant anything spe..." Demeter cut off his sentence with a dark look over her shoulder.

"Just shut up and drive me home. I get the point, we're breaking up. The really dumb thing here, Plato, is that you don't even seem to care what I feel." Plato glared at her, pulling into the street where Demeter lived. No conversation went on until Demeter went to open the door. Plato's paw was on her shoulder and he pulled her back. The long kiss pulled all the emotions out of Demeter and she sighed.

"I want to know what you feel, Deme, just before the end. Please..." Demeter shook her head and looked up into his eyes.

"I love you." She said, shoving the door of the truck open and reaching into the back of the truck to get her backpack. Plato waited in front of the house until Demeter was inside and then drove off quickly. Jemima was watching from the window and turned to her sister when Demeter walked in.

"Deme... why are you crying?" Demeter waved a paw at Jemima and rushed towards her room. Jemima's ears went back and she sat down on the couch. She reached for the phone and called the only person that seemed to know what was going on with Demeter. Electra was almost always the 'neutral' party in any fights that ever went on between Jemima and her friends.

"Hello? Is Leccy there? Oh, hey Leccy... I've got a question..."

Demeter closed her door and flung her backpack, sending it soaring into her closet. In complete dispair, Deme sunk to her knees and started to sob miserably into the arms of her shirt. It was true, she loved Plato, and now there was nothing left. She looked up with red eyes at the board above her bed where all her pictures were. There were ones of herself and her sister, Bomba and her messing around, and her and Plato. Standing up shakily, Demeter took the picture of Plato and herself at the Valentine's Day dance. It was a specialized picture, with the words 'Forever with my Heart' in scrolled red letters across it. Demeter ran a finger over it and put it back onto the board. She wasn't going to let this ruin her friendship with Plato. A soft knock on her door made Demeter turn.

"Deme?" Jemima poked her head into her sister's room. She eased inside and walked over to Deme, wrapping her sister into a warm hug. Demeter hugged Jemima tightly, crying soft tears into her sister's hair.

"What happened, Deme? Why isn't Plato staying here?" Demeter pulled back and managed a watery smile.

"Plato broke up with me." An instant fire came into Jemima's eyes and they sat down on Demeter's bed. The waterbed mattress moved under their weight and Jemima snarled softly.

"Did he even give you a reason?" Demeter took the kleenex her sister offered her and mopped up the tears on her face.

"He doesn't feel the same way anymore. He didn't even know how I felt about him! Shows you how well we knew each other..." Jemima rested her head against Demeter's shoulder, looking up into her sister's face lovingly.

"He wasn't worth it then." She said in a matter-of-fact tone. Deme chuckled, putting her arm around Jemima and hugging her tightly.

"Maybe you're right... but that doesn't stop me from feeling slightly unloved." Jemima wrapped her arms around Demeter's waist and squeezed.

"You're loved, but you just have to find that right person who will tell you they love you, hold you when you cry, wipe away your tears and tell you its alright." Demeter smiled at her sister, knowing her sister's profound wisdom. It always surprised her, but this time it was comforting.

"Thanks."


	5. Part 5

**Part Five**

The next day started normally. Demeter woke up, showered, and then called Plato for a ride to school.

"I'm bringing someone else along too, so I'll finally have a full cab. Jemima want a ride too?" Deme looked at her sister, intently making waffles and bacon. A gentle smile spread across Demeter's lips and she lowered the phone so the receiver and earpiece were against her chest and shoulder.

"Jem? Want a ride with Plato?" Jemima looked over her shoulder and smiled gently.

"Only if he's offering..." Demeter grinned and put the phone back to her ear.

"Yeah, but she says 'only if you're offering'." Plato laughed, and then Demeter's ear icked up the murmur of a female voice in the background. Plato whispered something and Demeter's eyebrow went up.

"Anyhow... I'll see you in an hour, Plato. Later."

"What? Oh, yeah... See ya, Deme." Demeter stayed immobilised, listening to the dial tone and staring off into space. So Plato had told the truth; he didn't feel for her anymore. She guessed the queen she'd heard was probably his new girlfriend.

"Deme? Waffles are ready..." Demeter put the phone back on the hook and took the plate offered to her.

When Plato's truck pulled up in front of the house, Demeter's eyes caught sight of a white queen sitting next to Plato.

"Vicky? Oh my..." Jemima walked around the truck to climb in behind her friend. Plato got out of the truck and let Demeter climb in behind the driver's seat. Victoria smiled at her, obviously more than a little embarassed about the situation. Plato took the two backpacks and went to stick them in the back.

"Listen Deme, I'm really sorry..." Vicky started, but Demeter laughed.

"No Vicky, it's okay. Really, if he didn't feel anything for me, what was the point? Congrats, and I mean it." Demeter reached over the seat and gripped the white queen's shoulder. Vicky smile and Plato climbed back in.

"And we're off!" He said, clueless to the looks exchanged between Deme and Vicky.

Jemima walked behind her group, amused by Vicky's embarassement when Leccy and Cettie questioned her.

"But I thought Deme was goin' out with Plato." Cettie's obvious cluelessness made Electra sigh.

"He broke up with her, Cettie. So... has he kissed you yet?" Leccy, not only the neutral one but also the tomboy of the group, was still interested in her friends' affairs. Vicky was obviously flustered, but a strong paw on Jemima's shoulder stopped her from hearing the reply.

Jemima knew by the smell that wafted around who the tom was. With a cool look on her pretty face, Jemima looked up into Macavity's eyes. His smirk chilled her blood and Jemima shrugged his paw off her shoulder.

"What do you want?" The small black and scarlet tabby asked icily. Macavity licked his lips, rubbed his knuckles against her upper arm, and then reached up to toy with the ends of Jem's hair. Jemima's skin crawled at his touch and she wanted nothing but to get away from him. The stench of the drug he used made her want to wretch and Jemima started to squirm under the intensity of his eyes.

"What do you think I want, little one?" His voice was low and husky, and smelt vile. Jemima's heart started to race when Macavity leaned in close. The smell of marijuana was so strong on his clothes. Ginger and black hair feathered across Jemima's cheek, and suddenly it was gone. Jemima opened her eyes, which she'd just realized were clamped shut, and saw Macavity skidding across the floor. A tall silver tabby tom stepped in front of Jemima. One of his large black paws was tucked lazily into the pocket of his jeans. Muscles could easily be made out under the legs of his jeans, and Jemima forced herself not to stare.

"Take a hike, Mac." Jemima could only stand and stare when Macavity stood up, snarled, and stalked away from this new tom angrily.

Silver hair striped with black sat around his shoulder in light waves, and feathered around his face when he turned towards Jemima. Jem remembered to close her mouth when emerald green eyes locked onto her face. The new tom shifted his large black leather jacket before speaking.

"You okay?" The smooth tenor voice was followed by a charming smile. Jemima blushed, looking down at her feet and brushing her hair out of her eyes.

"Yeah... thanks. Umm... I'm Jemima." She offered her paw to him, looking back up into those captivating emerald eyes. The silver tom smiled again, taking Jemima's paw and gently squeezing it.

"Munkustrap."


	6. Part 6

**Part Six**

"So you mean you and Macavity were best friends at one point?" Munkustrap walked through the school's courtyard and laughed. He looked down at her, and smiled into her face. Jemima's blue eyes were locked onto his face and she listened intently to him. He reached over, brushing some loose hair behind her ear and Munkus let his paw linger on her cheek.

"Yeah, sound pretty crazy doesn't it?" Jemima blushed and continued to walk. Munkustrap stood back a minute, and then followed her to where she sat on an empty bench. She sat with her ankles and her tail curled around her calves. Munkustrap sat next to her, putting his arm across the back of the bench. He smiled at Jemima, edging a little closer to her.

"So, you're a student here?" Munkustrap nodded his head, trying to keep Jemima's eyes on his. Her throat was dry, and Jemima swallowed in a vain attempt to dampen it. Munkustrap's paw moved, and hesitated, but came up to cup her cheek. His face moved slowly towards Jemima's and then his lips were covering hers. All the bones in Jemima's body melted and her thoughts were concentrated on that kiss. Her right paw came up and wound into Munkustrap's thick silver hair. The kiss deepened and then Munkustrap pulled back.

"No! Not here..." He said, trying to get a grip on his control. Jemima stared into his eyes, her breathing quickened. Their noses were touching, and Munkustrap's lips itched to kiss Jemima's again, but he respected her space and didn't want to push things.

"What are you doing after school? We could go get some ice cream, maybe catch a movie." Jemima's eyes came back up from Munkustrap's lips and locked with his eyes.

"Like... a date?" Munkustrap kissed Jemima against lightly and then pulled back. With a wink, he stood up and put his paws into his pockets. Jemima stood up and faced him, her paws clasped in front of her thighs.

"Like a date." Jemima smiled at him and nodded her head.

"Okay, I'll be there. I just have to tell my sister what's going on then. I don't want her to worry." Munkustrap nodded his head, looking around at the various groups of people gathered. His eyes rested on Tugger and Bomba, the scarlet queen basically sprawled across Tugger's lap. Munkustrap's upper lip twitched when Bombalurina's fingers danced up Tugger's chest from his belt and Tugger's paw rested on the inside of her right thigh. Jemima turned, following Munkustrap's gaze and groaning.

"Heavyside! Those two make me sick..." She muttered, turning and looking up at Munkustrap. "I'll see you later, Munkus. I'm going to go find my sister and tell her that I'm not going to be home right after school. Is there anywhere special you want to meet?"

Munkustrap looked down at her and smiled. His knuckles brushed Jem's cheek gently and then he sighed.

"Umm... maybe by the library. It's right by my locker, so that would work. Who's your sister? Just out of curiosity..." Jemima grinned up at Munkustrap and then started to walk back towards one of the many doors of the courtyard.

"Demeter, she's a senior." Munkustrap looked down at her and chuckled.

"No kidding! She's in my English class. She sits in front of me with Bomba." Jemima looked up at him with a smile.

"Really? Cool, so yeah. I'm going to go find her and tell her. See you later, Munkus!" She said happily, bounding off to find her sister. Munkustrap stopped, watching her with an amused smile on his face. It was just a friendly date, nothing more, right? Why did it make his heart jump?

"Captivated by young Jemmie, I see Munkus." Munkustrap's bristled and turned to face Tugger. Bombalurina wasn't hanging off of him as Munkustrap was used to, but Tugger had an air of arrogance around him just the same. Munkus regarded Tugger with a cool look on his face and then shrugged.

"Perhaps... at least I can keep a queen for longer than four days." Tugger flipped his head to get some of his long hair out of his face. His brown eyes were as calm as usual, but his smirk countered the normally 'cool' look.

"You know, Munkus, I'm surprised at you. At least I go after queens who are within a year of me. What's Jemima compared to you? Three, maybe four years younger..." Munkustrap's motion was quick, and Tugger was almost knocked off his feet. If Munkustrap hadn't been holding Tugger's collar, the lithe playboy would've been on his back. Munkustrap's upper lip was pulled back in a snarl, and all eyes in the courtyard were on them. Several queens tittered nervously as Munkustrap glared into Tugger's eyes.

"The major difference between you and me, Tugger, is that I know how to respect a queen. I'm not looking for a simple feel-good hook up. That is why you're dating Bombalurina, isn't it?" This time, Tugger's brown eyes flashed with anger. With strength he didn't normally show, Rum Tum Tugger pushed Munkustrap off and back a step. The two stood opposite each other, tails slashing angrily behind them.

"Bomba's more than just a hot bod, Munkus. Funny you noticed that first..." Munkustrap snarled, but Skimbleshanks pushed through the crowd. The orange tabby tom looked between the two toms and shook his head.

"Laddies! Enough is enough! No need tae get all worked up..." Skimble's thick Scottish accent made the words a little hard to understand but Munkustrap shrugged his jacket back into place and turned, walking from the courtyard. Tugger watched him leave and then looked at the Chemistry teacher with a winning smile.

"No problems here, coach." Skimble looked at Tugger with a raised brow, but turned and scattered the crowd. Bomba walked up and pressed against Tugger's side.

"Seems you pressed all the right buttons this time, love. What did you say to Munkus to get him so worked up?" Rum Tum Tugger watched Munkustrap's form move through the hallway through the windows of the courtyard and smirked.

"Just something that I'm sure he'll realize eventually..." Bomba looked at him, but rolled her eyes, knowing it was useless to try to get any information out of the tall tom.

"Deme! Deme, I have to talk to you." Demeter looked up from her English homework when Jemima came running up. The black and scarlet queen was grinning from ear to ear and Demeter laughed.

"What's got you all worked up?" Jemima sat down across from her sister and smoothed her hair down.

"We don't have anything planned for after school or supper, do we?" Demeter's eyebrow went up and she shifted in her seat.

"Not as far as I know... why?" Jemima leant across the table and smiled gently.

"Because I've been invited out... by a tom." The grin was quick to appear on Demeter's face and she laughed.

"Congratulations Jem! Who's the tom? If you don't mind me asking." Jem looked around, not seeing anyone she knew.

"His name's Munkustrap; he says he's in your English class. He basically just asked me to go out for an ice cream with him and then maybe hit a movie." Demeter froze, staring at her sister. "What?"

"Jemima, he's three years older than you! Do you have any idea how bad that could be when he turns eighteen?" Jemima rolled her eyes, rolling her shoulders.

"Demeter, I know all about that, but we're not dating. Just a casual thing, okay? Nothing's going to happen." Green eyes locked onto blue ones and Demeter frowned. 

"Nothing had better happen, because I'll kick his furry silver behind." Jemima laughed.

"So it's final then. I'm going to go find him and tell him the plans a go." Jemima dashed off, leaving Demeter sitting with her arms crossed over her work. With a sigh, Demeter looked back at her English.

"I hope this is just a casual thing... for your sake Munkustrap."


	7. Part 7

**Part Seven**

Jemima stood quietly in front of the library after school and watched all the other people walk by. Her small backpack was slung over one shoulder and she had a large red and black binder held in front of her. Her blue eyes scanned the crowd for the tall silver tom, and then someone tapped her on the shoulder. Looking up, Jemima smiled up into Munkustrap's face.

"Been waiting long?" He asked, taking her binder and holding it under his arm as they walked towards the exit. Jemima grinned and shook her head.

"No, I was just watching for you." Munkus laughed, grinning at her and shaking his head.

"Then you should probably be watching all directions." The comment made both of them laugh and soon they were by the parking lot. Jemima watched Demeter catch a ride with Plato and Vicky, and Bomba climb into Tugger's red sports car. Munkustrap put a paw on Jemima's shoulder and steered her towards a sad looking black car. The paint was peeling off in places and rust was eating away at the edges. Jemima stopped and looked at it for a moment, and then at Munkustrap when he turned.

"What? So I have a crappy looking car, so what?" He said, opening the trunk and putting Jemima's stuff in the back. Jemima stiffled a giggle and walked around to the passenger's side. Munkustrap climbed in, unlocked the door for Jemima and pushed it open. She got in and sunk into the black leather seat. Looking around, the inside didn't reflect the outside of the car at all. Black leather covered it almost entirely, mixed in with some odd chrome pieces. The sound system was state of the art, and Jemima spotted a large sub-woofer in the back window.

"Hmm..." Was all she said. Munkustrap grinned at her and started the engine. Even it didn't go with the car. It purred like a very large cat and didn't shake at all, as Jemima had expected it to. With a grin shot at Munkustrap, Jemima settled back into her seat.

"Not at all what you expected?" Munkus asked, starting out of the parking lot. Tugger's red car shot past them and Jemima rolled her eyes.

"I've always meant to ask Bomba how Tugger is in bed..." Munkustrap gave Jemima a curious sideways look. "Well, in my group of friends, any tom who either has a really big truck or has some really weird flashy car always has a really small penis."

Munkustrap couldn't stop laughing and tears came to his eyes.

"Are you serious? Now I'm glad I don't have a really flashy car. Besides, its much more fun to build a car from the inside out. If you start from the outside of the car, which Tugger is doing, your engine will die before you can get to it. This was my very first car. I got it about three years ago." Jemima looked at him with wide eyes.

"Three years ago? You mean you started driving in grade nine?" Munkus grinned, thinking back to those days. It had been him, Rum Tum Tugger and Macavity back then; the dynamic trio. You had the tall, dark and handsome one, being Tugger, you had the bad boy, being Macavity, and then you had the jock type, being Munkustrap. He wasn't really a jock, until after grade nine. He'd just been built like a football player. What had happened to the old days?

"Munkus? The light's green..." Jemima said gently, putting her paw on his arm. The muscles there went tense, and then relaxed again. Munkustrap's paw shifted gears and they continued. Jemima's blue eyes filled with concern, and when they parked in the ice cream shop's parking lot, she put both her paws on Munkustrap's arm.

"What's wrong?" She asked gently, getting a hurt look from Munkustrap. He shook his head, sending his hair flailing around his face. Jemima reached up, smoothing a hand over it and tucked part of it behind Munkustrap's ear.

"There's something wrong, and I'm not leaving the car until you tell me what's bothering you. Don't need any details, but I need to know... I'm sorry, it's just who I am." Munkustrap looked deep into Jemima's eyes and saw that she was perfectly serious. With a sigh, Munkustrap leant back and smoothed both paws over his face and hair. His chest strained against the cotton of his white t-shirt, but Jemima's eyes were on Munkustrap's face.

"It's just... when I first got this car, it wasn't just mine. I was the only one of my trio of friends, me, Tugger and Macavity, who could drive. So we all had this brilliant idea that we should all pitch in and get a car together. I used to drive those two around everywhere. I wish I knew what went wrong..." Jemima had unbuckled her seatbelt and she was sitting on her heels. Leaning over, she pressed her lips gently against Munkustrap's brow. To his surprise, the simple gesture eased almost all his stress away and Jemima took one of his paws.

"Friends seperate if fate means them to. Unfortunately, we can't always control what happens with our friends. Life would just be too simple that way." Munkustrap looked into Jemima's eyes, and then reached up and pulled her lips down to his. The kiss was full of need and frustration, and Jemima answered it with her own need. Munkustrap's paw moved to the base of her neck and pulled her close, his other paw moving up to go around her waist. Jemima gasped against Munkustrap's lips, her small, slender paws running over his chest.

"No! Wait no..." Munkustrap said urgently, pulling back from Jemima. She stopped, her eyes wide and wild. Sitting back onto her heels, Jemima smoothed her hands over her hair. Munkustrap was breathing hard and he was leaning back hard against his seat.

"Why do I lose control around you, Jemima? Heavyside... let's go get some ice cream." Jemima bit her lip against a smile, and climbed out of the car. Munkustrap locked his door and waited for Jemima to come around the car before heading towards the door of the ice cream parlor. Jemima's paw slipped into his and she leant her head lightly against his arm. Munkustrap found it so sweet and just held her paw gently in his own.

"Munkustrap, the usual today?" The parlor owner, the eccentric Jennyanydots, was moving around behind the counter when Munkustrap walked up with Jemima. He grinned and winked at the older orange tabby queen.

"Yeah... Jemima, what do you want?" Jenny's eyes went to Jemima, and then ran down to where Munkustrap and Jemima's paws were linked. A mischievous smile spread cross her lips, but Jenny looked into Jemima's eyes.

"What can I get you, hun?" Jemima grinned back at Jenny, not really knowing what to get. Her blue eyes scanned the magnetic letters up on the board and she scrunched her nose.

"I'll have a double chocolate raspberry sundae, please." Jenny's eyebrows went up and she peeked at Munkustrap.

"You'd better keep this one, Munkus, she has good taste." The tabby queen started to go putter around with the ice cream and Munkustrap cleared his throat. Jemima looked up at him and grinned.

"Keep this one, eh? I didn't know we were dating..." The joke was meant to bother Munkustrap, but he only blushed. Jenny caught the blush and grinned to herself as she prepared the banana split and the sundae. Looking over her shoulder, Jenny watched Munkus lead Jemima to an empty booth. They sat across from each other, and Jemima toyed with Munkustrap's fingers.

"Such a cute couple, huh?" Jenny's eyes whirled to Pouncival, her helper she hired just last summer. He grinned at her and motioned with his chin towards Jemima and Munkustrap.

"They look really cute together." He commented, going back to cleaning up the taps for the soft ice cream. Jenny finished up the split and the sundae with whipped cream, a cherry for the split and a spoonfull of raspeberry sauce for the sundae, and then handed them to Pouncival.

"Get on with it!" She said with a loving smack across one of his ears. Pouncival grinned at her, and made his way over to where Jemima and Munkus were sitting. He was in some of Etcetera and Electra's classes, and knew Jemima fairly well. When Jemima caught sight of him, she grinned.

"He Pounce! I didn't know you worked here..." Pouncival set down the tray on the table and gave each their respective desserts.

"Been working here since the summer. Hey Munkus, how's things?" Munkustrap grinned at Pouncival and dug into his banana split.

"It's going, how's Electra?" Munkustrap wiggled his eyebrows at Pouncival, now blushing. Pouncival picked up the tray and grinned at the two.

"She's good. Enjoy your ice cream." He said, going back to the counter. Jemima grinned at Munkustrap and spooned up some whipped cream and raspberries. She stuck the spoon in her mouth and sighed in ecstacy.

"Mmm... Jenny makes really good berry sauce." Jemima commented. Munkustrap reached over and took a small spoonful, testing it for himself. With a grin, he nodded and went back to his banana split.

"She sure does..." He said, spooning up some banana.


	8. Part 8

**Part Eight**

With their ice cream finished and paid for, Munkustrap and Jemima left the parlor. Standing outside Munkustrap's car, Munkus looked up at the sky.

"What time do you have to be home?" Jemima shrugged, jumping up to sit on the hood of Munkustraps' car. Munkustrap looked down at her with his striking green eyes and smiled. He leaned down to put his paws on either side of Jemima and teased her lips with kisses placed on either cheek.

"No curfue?" He asked, kissing Jemima's lips gently. She laughed, stroking her knuckles against Munkustrap's chin.

"Me and Demeter live with our grandparents. Our parents died a long time ago. Demeter just wants me home at a decent hour, which for her is around eleven. And as long as I'm in one piece, I'm sure she'll have no issues with it." Munkustrap laughed, and then pressed his lips against Jemima's. She returned the kiss, and wove her paw around his neck from his chin. It stayed there, and her fingers laced through his hair. Munkustrap's paws moved closer to Jemima's hips, and then his fingers curled under her butt. The kiss deepened and Jemima pressed her slender body against Munkustrap's chest.

"Mmmm. Define one piece." Munkustrap muttered against Jemima's lips. With a laugh, Jemima made herself pull back. Munkustrap's emerald green eyes burned with desire and Jemima kissed his lips again gently.

"I'm not dead." She said flatly. With one easy motion, Munkustrap pulled Jemima off the car hood and carried her towards her door. He put her back onto her feet and kissed her cheek gently.

"Still want to see a movie?" Munkus asked, opening the door so she could get in. Jemima contemplated a moment, and then nodded her head, climbing into the car. Munkustrap grinned and closed the door, going around to the driver's side.

"Do you know what's playing?" She asked as he buckled in. Munkustrap thought a moment, and nodded his head.

"Last time I checked, the theatre here was playing a few of those neat looking new movies. You know, umm... _'Kiss of Death'_, _'When Chaos Stops'_ and... what the heck is the name of the last one..." Munkustrap's brow furrowed in thought and Jemima giggled, reaching over to tuck some of his hair behind his ear again.

"_'Nations Rising'_." She supplied, buckling herself in. "I kinda want to see it, if that's okay with you."

Munkustrap grinned at her, not knowing why someone like her would want to see a really stupid fictional and futuristic war. He'd already seen it, but if she wanted to see it, he'd go.

"Sure, sounds like a plan. I think the evening show for that one starts at..."

"Six-thirty." Jemima said, tilting her head with a cocky smile. Munkustrap narrowed his eyes on her face and pursed his lips.

"And how do you know this?" Jemima shrugged, leaning back into the leather.

"I work at the theatre. We can get my employee discount." Munkustrap's eyebrows went up.

"You work?" Jemima's eyes were half-mast as she looked at him. The dark lashes masked her amusement, but she nodded her head slowly.

"Yeah. My grandparents don't really have all that much money to give me and Demeter for extra shopping, so we have to make it ourselves. They keep a roof over our head, food in our stomachs and clothes on our backs. Anything little and extra, like make up, we have to buy for ourselves." Munkustrap nodded his head.

"Makes sense. You're lucky... you're getting your life skills developped early. You don't have someone to buy all your stuff for you and treat you like a princess." Jemima's smile flicked into a grin and she stretched her arms up to the roof of the car.

"Like Tugger or Bomba do?" She asked teasingly. Munkustrap laughed and nodded his head, heading out of the parking lot and towards the highway.

"So if the evening show starts at six-thirty and the shows about two and a half hours long, that means we can have a little time afterwards to hang out." Jemima said, looking over at Munkustrap with a gentle smile. Munkustrap looked over at her at a red light and grinned. Jemima's paw went to his arm and rested there gently.

"Sure... sounds like a plan. Any ideas where we should hang out?" Jemima shrugged, looking up at the light as it changed. Munkustrap pulled forward slowly and made his way through the net of traffic. After a moment's thought, Jemima peered up at Munkustrap.

"Maybe we could go back to your house." Munkustrap felt a knot of need thread into his belly when Jemima suggested that. "If that's okay with you, of course. Are your parents home?"

"I don't live with my parents anymore. I have my own apartment." He said, not noticing Jemima's eyes widening. She looked back out the window and felt her heart leap. And she had suggested they go back to his house! What was she going to do now? With no parents there, who knew what could happen. Although Munkustrap didn't seem to want something like that. He was different than most toms, and especially different from Tugger. Damn Rum Tum Tugger.

"We can go back there for a few minutes. I haven't had a chance to clean up in the past few days, so there's stuff everywhere. Mostly books and dirty clothes, but really... I'm sure you don't really want to see that." He laughed, looking over at Jemima with a flashy smile. Jemima smiled at him and squeezed his arm gently.

"Sounds like a plan." She said, unbuckling as they parked in the movie theatre lot. Munkustrap climbed out of the car and walked around to open Jemima door. After locking the car, the pair made their way towards the entrance. Jemima spotted Etcetera, Electra and Victoria together and a knot of worry balled in her chest. Munkustrap's fingers were laced through hers and Jemima gripped them suddenly. Munkustrap looked down at her curiously and then looked up at the trio.

"Want to skip the movie?" He asked, stopping Jemima so she was partly hidden behind him. Her friends were too busy looking at some movie posters to see her, and Jemima nodded her head.

"Yeah... could we please? I hope you don't mind..." Munkustrap laughed, turning them around with a shake of his head.

"No worries. I've seen _'Nations Rising'_ already, so I can tell you what happens." Jemima grinned at him and smacked his arm gently.

"If I had known you'd seen it already, I would've suggested a different movie." She said with a laugh. Munkustrap shrugged, pulling Jemima against his side lightly. Jemima laughed, pressing her cheek against his arm gently.

"It doesn't matter to me, I'd have watched it again with you." The soft tone in Munkustrap's voice warmed Jemima's heart and she looked up at him. His green eyes were fixed ahead, and the light of the sun shone off of them like they were real emeralds.

**_He really is handsome_**, Jemima thought with a smile. Munkustrap looked down at her and blinked when he saw her looking up at his face. The sun was reflecting off her hair, casting a shadow over her face where her bangs flicked over. Her round blue eyes shone, and Munkustrap noticed small star-shaped specks of dark blue inside the lighter blue.

**_Heavyside she's beautiful_**, he thought with a sudden blush. Jemima's eyes went back to looking ahead of them when they arrived at his car again. He opened her door and let her in, taking a few deep breaths before going around to the driver's side. Before he opened the door, Munkustrap stopped, looking into towards the sun. And they were going back to his place. What in Heavyside's name was he going to do? He wouldn't be able to keep his paws off of her, but at the same time, the last thing Munkustrap wanted to do was force her into anything. When he climbed into the car, Jemima reached over and laced her fingers through his.

"Munkustrap... we're going back to your place, right?" She asked, her eyes locked onto his. Restraining a sigh, Munkustrap looked into her eyes and nodded his head. She smiled and leant towards him, her eyes still on his.

"Okay, I'm not worried. Are you?" She asked, and Munkustrap didn't know what to say.

"Worried? What do you mean?" Jemima looked into his eyes and laughed gently.

"Munkustrap, you and I both know that if we're alone, something's going to happen. I'm not worried about it, are you? But that's a rheutorical question, because when I said that, your eyes clouded a little. What worries you, Munkustrap?" The silver tabby let out a sigh of exasperation and then laughed. He looked at Jemima, leaning towards her and caught her lips with his.

"You know, Jemima, you have a tremendous gift of seeing right through anything. I'm worried about hurting you. I mean, you know something's going to happen but..." Jemima's paw went over his lips, stopping Munkustrap's sentence before he went further. With a shake of her head, Jemima looked into his eyes.

"I'm not a virgin, just so you know..." She said, her eyes clouding with hurt. Munkustrap stared at her, speechless at her revelation.

"But... Heavyside! Who?" He asked, wanting to know so that he wouldn't feel like he was forcing the younger queen into anything. Jemima sat back in the seat with a sigh.

"It was a few months ago... with Tugger, not surprisingly enough. We had a thing going on, like he has with everyone else... and then it just happened. We were kissing in the backseat one minute and then bam! There we were, rocking the car like mad. He broke up with me the next day." She said bluntly, making Munkustrap cringe.

"Okay, I knew he was crude, but that's sick and wrong." The silver tabby said between his teeth. Jemima rolled her eyes and laughed.

"You have no idea! That's what he did with Electra and that's what he did with Vicky. The other girl from our group he hasn't screwed yet is Cettie, but we're all waiting for it. We're also waiting for him to cheat on Bomba, because that's what he did to Leccy. Cheated on her, made up, screwed her, and then broke her heart. Heavyside! I just realized how much of a real playboy he is!" Jemima started laughing, joined quickly by Munkustrap. He felt a little better about the whole situation, but at the same time...

"Jemima?" He said quietly. Jemima looked at him with tears shining in her eyes. The smile on her face shone and Jemima brushed her bangs out of her face.

"Yeah Munkus?" Her voice was full of her laughter, which she was attempting to smother, but it wasn't working. Munkustrap reached over, pullling Jemima towards him. Their lips met in a gentle, sweet kiss and Jemima's head reeled from it. When Munkustrap drew back, Jemima's eyes fluttered open again.

"Will you go out with me?" Jemima's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. Munkustrap almost took it back until Jemima's mouth closed and curled into a joy filled smile.

"You really mean it, Munkus?" She asked in a small voice. It was almost bursting with excitement and made Munkustrap relax completely.

"Completely serious." Jemima let out a short excited squeal and kissed Munkustrap enthusiastically. Laughing agaisnt Jemima's lips, Munkustrap drew back.

"Now we can go."


	9. Part 9

**Part Nine**

Tugger leant against his steering wheel, his brown eyes locked onto Munkustrap and Jemima's kissing forms across the way. He'd been watching them since they walked back from where they'd stopped a little while ago, and Rum Tum Tugger knew that something was up. Bomba was watching as well, a little more interested in who was involved rather than what the situation was.

"Oh!!! Deme's going to freak..." She tittered with glee, taking out her cell phone. Tugger's paw suddenly covered hers, closing around the paw that held the hot pink cell phone.

"Don't tell her yet..." Bomba looked at Tugger with a dark look in her eyes. She yanked her paw out of him, pleased when his eyes were back on her.

"And what gives you the right to tell me what to do?" She asked in a snide tone. Tugger was used to it by now, and simply shrugged, going back to watching his friend and date. Bombalurina pouted, putting her cell phone back into her purse and leaning her elbow against the window. Her red nails tapped against the car panel and she sighed heavily.

"How long are we going to watch them?" She asked when Munkustrap pulled out of his spot. It was a good thing that Munkus and Jemima were too busy talking, because Tugger's bright red sports car was a bit hard to miss if eyes were to scan the cars. Tugger started the engine of his car and looked over at Bomba.

"Until we can prove that something's going on between them." His lips curled into a malicious smile, giving Bomba a quick, thrilling chill. She leant against his arm and mirrored his smile.

"Oh hun, I love the way you think..." She purred into his ear, making blood shoot to his loins. Tugger chose to ignore it, and pulled out of their parking spot. If Munkus wasn't paying too much attention, Tugger should be able to follow him. If he was, well, Tugger would deal with that if the time came.

"Come on, Tugger! You're going to lose them!" Bomba hissed, smacking him gently on the thigh. Tugger regarded his girlfriend with calm brown eyes, her own eyes wild with excitement. A smirk played onto his handsome face and he nodded.

"Let's go..." He pulled out of the parking space and followed Munkustrap's car from a distance.

Jemima was sitting, her fingers woven through Munkustrap's her forehead leaning against the window. Eyes half-closed, Jemima watched the happenings on the street. Her eyes caught, several times, glimpses of a red car behind them; but when she turned to see behind them, it was gone. Jemima's brow furrowed, and then her head went back to resting lightly against the window.

At a red light, Munkustrap looked over at his new girlfriend, squeezing her paw gently to get her clear blue eyes to look over at him. Munkustrap brought Jemima's knuckles up to his lips and kissed them gently.

"What's wrong, Jem?" He asked, kissing her knuckles again. Jemima smiled at him, her eyes going behind her. This time they narrowed and she looked at Munkustrap.

"Did you realize that that red car has been following us since we left the theatre? I swear I've seen the same one about six ti..." Munkustrap cut her sentence off with a sharp curse. His green eyes shadowed and his upper lips twitched.

"That low-down son of a bitch!" Jemima stared at Munkustrap as he whirled back to face the front. His paw unlaced from hers and he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"Hold on to something, Jem... this could get messy." Munkustrap's eyes were fixed on the light, and when it turned to green, his tires spun dangerous on the pavement. Jemima clung to the door, her eyes wide with surprise as Munkustrap started to weave through traffic.

"Sneaky son of a gun!" Tugger said with a laugh, shifting gears and swerving through the line of traffic, trying to keep sight of the beat up black car. A large black and gold truck cut Tugger off, and he leant heavily on the horn.

"Bastard!" He swore, seeing the red light through the truck's window. Bomba leant over and sighed heavily.

"Lost them..." Tugger glared balefully at her and leant against his fist.

"Thank you Captain Obvious." Bomba looked at Tugger down her straight nose and returned the glare. With a sniff of disdain, Bombalurina turned her eyes back to the window.

"No problem, Mister Snarly." Rum Tum Tugger pulled quickly into the lane closest to the sidewalk and pulled into the nearest parking spot. Bomba turned to him and narrowed her eyes. With a single, quick motion, Tugger leant over her and opened the door. Bombalurina stared at him, her fur sponging.

"Get out." Tugger said darkly, leaning back and running one of his paws over his face. The scarlet queen in the passenger seat sat and stared at him in disbelief. Blue eyes lit up with a dangerous fire and Bomba snarled.


	10. Part 10

**Part Ten**

"Excuse me?" She asked between clenched teeth. Dark, cloudy brown eyes turned and locked with blue ones and Tugger's upper lip twitched.

"You heard me just fine, toots. Get your pretty, tight ass out of my car." Bombalurina hissed angrily, but unbuckled and climbed out of the car. Tugger leant to close the door, and then cringed when Bombalurina dragged her long nails along the side of his car. Flipping her long hair back, Bomba turned and strutted down the street with amazing dignity. Tugger turned off his car and climbed out to inspect the damage.

"Stupid damned bitch." He swore, his eyes running down the four long scars that now marred the red paint on the one side of his car. The car from the middle of the back door to the windshield. Running his fingers over them, Tugger rubbed the sides of his mouth. Etcetera happened to by walking by at that moment, and her eyes widened at the sight of her long-time crush. A short, delighted squeal escaped her lips when Tugger turned to her and smiled charmingly. Her round teal-colored eyes went to the scratches, and delight turned to mortification.

"Oh my gosh, Tugger! Who did this to your car?" She said, almost forgetting about her nerves. Cettie rushed over to the car and put her delicate little fingers on one of the long scars. Tugger hid an amused smile behind his paw, his eyes lighting up with a sudden idea. Leaning against the car, Tugger sighed heavily, bringing Etcetera's round eyes back to his face. His charming smile returned, and Etcetera blushed when she realized how close he was standing.

_Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my **gosh**!!!_ Was all that ran through her head when Tugger's smile saddened a little.

"It was just an accident..." He said, his brown eyes looking at the scars mournfully. Etcetera reached out, taking all her will power to try not to shake as she gently touched Rum Tum Tugger's paw gently.

"I'm sorry, what happened?" Grinning internally, Tugger made up a wonderful tale of a horrible accident to tell the eager young queen. Her eyes widened, and Tugger was in awe of the range of emotions that crossed her face. Sympathy was the final one, and they were sitting on the curb. Etcetera seemed to have forgotten most of her nerves and was sitting with her thigh touching Tugger's knee.

"Wow, I'm so sorry." Was all she could manage when she looked up and found herself nose to nose with Rum Tum Tugger. The blush returned and Cettie started to stutter.

"You know, Cettie, you're prettier than some people give you credit for." With his voice low, Tugger brushed his finger against Etcetera's cheek. Cettie managed one shaky, giggly smile and looked away from Tugger.

"No I'm not... really. Vicky and Jemmie are so much prettier than me..." Tugger winced, recovering from the comment. Etcetera looked back up at him and shrugged. Tugger's paw moved to the back of her neck, and she froze. Bringing his face slowly closer to the younger queen's, Tugger looked intently into Cettie's eyes.

_Don't scare her, that'll just ruin it._ Tugger told himself sternly, rubbing his thumb against Cettie's chin. He had to admit though, her lips were very pretty. How come he'd never noticed that before? A gentle dimple spotted her left cheek when she giggled nervously.

"Tell me if you want me to stop." Tugger hardly recognized the gentleness in his own voice, but ran with it. Etcetera's lips parted to say something, but a sigh was the only thing that came out. Tugger covered her lips in an instant, taking his time to make it perfect. Wait, why would he want it to be perfect? His intentions weren't at all what anyone would call honest, but then again...

"Tugger... wait." Cettie could hardly believe herself when she pulled back. Neither could Tugger, for that matter. A slender paw rested lightly against the lithe tom's chest, toying gently with his shirt material.

"I don't know if we should be doing this." She said, scolding herself for letting out a shaky breath. Tugger stared at her in disbelief, moving a little closer to her so he could look deeply into her eyes. Cettie looked up at him with a sad look in her eyes.

"I'm not the brightest girl, I know that... but Tugger, as much as I really, really, **really** like you, I don't want to hurt Bomba. I respect her, and I really look up to her. You two are... still dating... right?" A warning light went on in the back of Tugger's head to play this one carefully. Breaking Bomba's heart was one thing, but breaking someone like Etcetera's heart was different. How, Tugger couldn't find reasoning for himself, but he convinced himself it was different somehow.

"Cettie..." Etcetera shook her head, willing the tears that sprang to her eyes to go away. Standing up, Cettie stumbled back a step, her butt landing on the edge of Tugger's car. Tugger was also on his feet, taking Etcetera by the arms and holding her against his car. Leaning down, Tugger's skilled mouth covered hers again and Cettie sighed against them. Her head snapped back, tears flowing from her eyes.

"No, no, no..." She whimpered, pressing her face against Tugger's shoulder. In despair, Rum Tum Tugger held Etcetera against him as she cried. He never really did that well with crying queens. Well, okay that's not true, but in this instant, Etcetera's tears tore out his heart. Tugger drew her back and basically went down on his knees on the pavement, looking up into her round face. Her tears had smeared her mascara, which was running down the dark tan fur on her cheeks. Teal eyes were starting to redden around the edges and Tugger's heart tore a little more.

"Etcetera, I know I've been a huge... how can I put it?"

"Man whore?" Cettie provided in a small voice, sniffling. With a gentle smile, Tugger bit the inside of his lip against a laugh.

"Yeah, that's one way of describing me. But anyhow, I know I've been a huge man whore, but this is going to sound really weird. There's something about you that makes me... want to be around you. I want to get close to you, and I want to stay by your side. That scares me, and I can see that scares you too..." Tugger chose his words carefully, and was pleased with himself when a shy smile spread across Cettie's face. A watery smile lit up her eyes and Cettie giggled.

"Really?" The hopeful tone made the tall tom's heart break, his mind wandering back to his original intentions. How could he toy with her emotions? She truly liked him, but truth be told he was lying to her. What was she going to do when she finds out that he was only toying with her emotions? Tugger sighed, making Etcetera looked deeply into his eyes. A charmed smile spread across her lips, and Etcetera brought her lips down to brush lightly against his.


	11. Part 11

**Part Eleven**

_**Disclaimer: The lyrics at the beginning of the chapter are property of Three Days Grace.**_

_I feel it every day_

_Its all the same_

_It brings me down_

_But I'm the one to blame_

_I've tried everything to get away_

_So here I go again_

_Chasing you down again_

_Why do I do this?_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_I fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_I try not to_

_Feels like everyday_

_Stays the same_

_It's dragging me down_

_And I can't pull away_

_So here I go again_

_Chasing you down again_

_Why do I do this?_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_I fall for you _

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_I try not to_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_You make me fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_You don't even try_

_So many thoughts that_

_I can't get out of my head_

_I try to live without you_

_Every time I do I feel that_

_I know what's best for me_

_But I want you each day_

_I'll keep on wasting all my time_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_I fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_I try not to_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_You make me fall for you_

_Over and over_

_Over and over_

_You don't even try to_

The music from the CD restarted abruptly and Etcetera continued to stare off into space. Her head was resting on her forearms and she listened to the sound of the water running in the bathroom just off Tugger's bedroom.

I slept with him. Etcetera thought grimly, taking her CD out of the player when the water stopped running. She bent down, grabbing her pink fuzzy CD case and straightened, turning her body towards the bathroom door. Shadows moved in the light under the door and it opened with a slight creak. The thin coating of guilty ice melted from Cettie's heart when Tugger emerged rom the steam and leant his long body against the doorframe. Water dripped off his long hair and ran through the downy fur on his lithe torso. A fluffy white towel was wrapped lazily around his waist; one of his large paws held in in place.

Rum Tum Tugger looked at Etcetera and smiled. She looked very... majestic, sitting at his desk with her light blue satin tank top slipping off one shoulder. He moved quickly and smoothly, and his paw trailed up her arm, replacing the strap. Brown eyes stayed locked with teal-colored eyes; one of which being slightly blocked by a lock of white-blond hair streaked with grey and black. Tugger's paw lingered on Cettie's cheek, drawing a delighted, slightly mystified smile out of the younger tabby queen.

"Hmm..." The tall, lithe tom made a sound of male approval; bending over and the waist and kissing Etcetera lightly on the mouth. Cettie smiled against his lips and brushed her small, delicate fingers through the thin fur on Tugger's cheeks. He may be a man-whore, but she liked him anyway. The weight from the CD case in her lap was lifted and Tugger started to open it. Etcetera watched Tugger's eyebrows go up as he flipped through the music. He closed the case again and set it down on his desk. With a lazy smirk on his face, Tugger eased his hip up onto the desk.

"You know, you can tell alot about a person from the music they listen to." Cettie leant her head to one side and regarded him with an amused smile on her round face. Her eyes wandered over his face, taking all the details about him. There were a few small scars on his upper left cheek, something she'd noticed when she'b been under him on his bed. Cettie's paw gave a small twitch and then went to his paw. Tugger's fingers moved, lacing through Cettie's as she giggled.

"Really? Then tell me something about myself." Tugger laughed, reaching down and plucking the tabby queen off the chair and sitting down. A squeal of surprise escaped her lips when Cettie found herself being pulled into Tugger's lap and having his long, muscular arms wrap around her waist. His chin rested on her shoulder and his cheek pressed against her neck. Her heart gave a leap into her throat and started to beat quickly. Tugger's mouth turned in to kiss the quickened pulse in Cettie's throat, but he stopped and laughed.

"Well, given that I have a psychology book, I could get it out and tell you something. I also have a book on dreams." Etcetera looked at Tugger, one eyebrow up on her face and a disbelieving grin on her face.

"You're kidding me!" She said, but Tugger shook his head.

"Took a psychology course last semester; used a bit of it on my parents. Drove everyone mad. Ahh! Now you're probably thinking, 'how could Tugger deal with some stupid, boring psychology course?'. Here's the answer: I liked it. As simple as that. I don't know why, mind you, but it just appealed to me." Cettie grinned, pushing herself off Tugger's lap and going around him. One of her delicate paws trailed over his chest and across his shoulder, making his own pulse race a little; and then she flopped down onto his bed.

"Get the books then; I want to see what you can make of me." Tugger looked over his shoulder and grinned at Cettie. She returned it, starting to make herself comfy with some of the millions of pillows that were strewn across the bed. Standing up, Tugger shifted the towel.

"Avert your eyes then, young one. Wouldn't want to ruin those lovely teal-colored eyes with the sight of my body." Laughing together, Tugger pulled on a pair of red boxer shorts and slipped into a pair of loose jeans. He neglected to zip them up and strode out of the room to his small workspace in the room opposite. Etcetera sighed happily, leaning her face into the sheets. They smelled like him, and it was a comforting scent. Tugger came back into the room, opening his mouth to say something but stopped himself. Cettie was laying on her back, paws up above her head, eyes closed serenely and one paw closed gently over the other wrist. The simple pose knocked his breath out of him, and Tugger almost staggered. Cettie opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling gently. She sat up, the same strap of her tank top slipping down again. She reached up and pulled it up, patting a spot on the bed.

"Come on and sit down; you look like you're gonna fall over." She said, leaning onto a pile of pillows. Etcetera settled herself onto the pillows by leaning on her side and propping her head up with her fist. Her eyes were on Tugger's face; perplexed by the glow that seemed to have suddenly appeared. He cleared his throat, walking over and sitting down on the bed. He had two thick books on his lap and grinned up at Cettie.

"I have to confess that I was a bit of a geek and went to buy the textbooks so I could keep them after last semester." Giggling, Etcetera sat up and reached for one of the books. Her fingers brushed against Tugger's bare arm, doing more to him than any seductive move could. His brown eyes smoldered as they looked at Cettie. It went unnoticed because the young queen was flipping through the pages of the dream book.

"Wow! This book is so..." Her sentence was cut off when she looked up and saw Tugger staring at her. "What?"

Reaching up, Tugger stroked her cheek gently with his knuckles. A light blush came up in her cheeks, but Etcetera didn't make a move to pull away. Tugger leant in, and his lips were almost touching hers when his cell phone vibrated. Closing his eyes in frustration, Tugger swore under his breath and stood up to get it.

"Tugger speaking." The dark look that passed over his face made it clear to Tugger's guest that the person was more than Tugger wanted to deal with at the moment.


	12. Part 12

**Part Twelve**

"Look Bomba, I don't have time to deal with you right now... Why? Because I have guests over right now... Oh fucking deal with it! Honestly Bomba, I can't have you hacking up my car and breathing down my neck every time you get pissed... Fine!!! We're over." Tugger shut the phone with Etcetera looking on. Her eyes clouded with hurt, and she bit the inside of her lip. Standing up shakily, she smoothed her paws down her front. She shook her hair out of her eyes and looked up at Tugger's turned face.

"You were still together?" The blunt hurt made Rum Tum Tugger look over. Guilt wove a tight knot into his stomach and he took a step forward. Looking down at her feet, Cettie raised a paw.

"You asshole! I can't believe I trusted you. Yes, Tugger, I trusted you." Anger and hurt swam in Cettie's eyes as she started to move past Tugger. She forgot that he had a long reach and was snagged around the waist.

"Wait! Really, Cettie, I don't have any feelings for her. She was a fling." Tugger bit the inside of his cheek as soon as the words came out of his mouth. The shorter tabby set her jaw and folded her arms over her chest.

"And tell me Tugger, what is this to you? Just another fling? Like hell I'm going to let you tear me apart like you did to all of my friends. You hurt Leccy, then Jemima and then Vicky. Now you've obviously hurt Bombalurina, one of the queens I constantly look up to, and you're expecting me to believe what comes out of your mouth?" Taking a calming breath, Cettie pushed Tugger's paws off her arms. Looking up into his eyes, she didn't move.

"Tell me what this is to you. Please." Rum Tum Tugger straightened, looking deep into Etcetera's eyes. This queen had followed him around, shadowed his every step just last year, and now she stood before him, frustrated and hurt and she wanted to know what she meant to him. What did she mean to him? That was definitely a question to process. Etcetera recognised the look of thought on his face and took a step back to sit on the edge of his bed.

"I can wait for you to answer." The calm tone in her voice made the knot in Tugger's stomach do an instant twist. He had to sit down. One of his large paws grasped for the back of the chair, found it, and dragged it under him. Rubbing both paws over his face and trailing his fingers through his hair, Tugger looked at Cettie.

"You want to know what you, what this whole thing, means to me?" A simple nod. "Fine. This means more to me than anything ever has. I can look you in the eyes and tell you this because I feel so comfortable around you. Don't ask me why, because I still need to figure that out."

"In the grand scheme of things, Cettie, you are like my world. The way you do stuff, walk, talk... basically who you are, is all such a mesmerizing thing to me. Can you look at me and tell me what you feel? Right now, with no one around, can you tell me how you really feel about me? Am I just that really hot tom who has all the attention from the queens?" The defensive tone that wove through Tugger's voice made Cettie straighten her back. Looking down her nose at Tugger, Etcetera's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You don't know anything, do you? When I first met you, I thought you were the biggest jerk on the face of the planet. It's really true that you have this stupid damn charm that nobody can resist, but that's not why I like you. The reason why I feel like I do is confusing to me; so I can't explain it. Every night I cry because I'm so frustrated that this stupid little simple thing is something that I can't figure out. But you didn't answer my question, what is this to you?"

"I could repeat what you just said, if you want..." Tugger said sarcastically and then grinned. "But that would just be a waste of our time. Do you want a ride home?"

Etcetera looked up at Tugger when he stood up and started to search for a shirt. She tilted her head to one side and looked at him. He knelt beside his dresser and started to dig through his drawers. Cettie stood up and walked over to him. When Tugger straightened and turned, Etcetera put a paw on his cheek, making his eyes come down to her face.

"You are a mystery..." She said softly, toying with his hair with the ends of her fingers. Tugger's paw came up and gripped her wrist gently while he pulled her close and kissed her deeply. He'd figured out one thing, at least. The tom who was thought to be nothing but a narcissist had figured out why he felt different around one queen. He liked her.

"I enjoy being secretive; part of who I am." He mumbled against her lips. Cettie pivoted their positions and pushed Tugger backwards. With surprise in his eyes, Tugger fell back into the chair. Cettie grinned at him and crossed her arms, pulling her tank top over her head. Tossing it on the bed, the younger queen moved to straddle Tugger's waist and brushed her lips against his. Stunned to temporary paralysis, Tugger watched Etcetera's face as she trailed her fingers along his cheekbones. The delicate fingers were tipped with short nails, but the slight touch of them made blood shoot to Tugger's loins. Cettie's eyes started to twinkle with amusement as she continued to trail her fingers down Tugger's chest.

"It's like a maze..." She said, looking up at him as she toyed with his fur. A small trail of blood started out the corner of Tugger's mouth where he bit himself. Cursing, Tugger started to raise a paw. Etcetera stopped him by reaching up and brushing it away. Her lips replaced her finger and she gently kissed the corner of his mouth.

"Geez, Tugger... don't hurt yourself too much." Rum Tum Tugger grinned, reaching up and fisting his paw in her hair. His skilled mouth crushed over hers and Tugger drank greedily. Etcetera pressed her body against Tugger and her paws moved up to lace through his hair. Gasping for breath, Etcetera pulled her head back to give Tugger a flash of her throat. His mouth moved there, his teeth nipping lightly and sending bolts of fire through Cettie's blood. It hadn't been like this the first time. Tugger had been very precise with what he was doing, asking her if she was enjoying things. Now it was all need, all lust, and plain, blood-stirring desire.

"Oh Tugger..." The moan escaped Etcetera's lips when Tugger's paw moved down from her shoulder to close over her modest breast. He grunted against her throat, nuzzling his nose into the dampening fur. The paw over her breast moved down, and then back up under the cotton of the white bra. Etcetera gasped, paws tightening in the long hair, and her body arched against his paw.

"Heavyside." Tugger himself gasped for breath, his paws moving urgently over Etcetera's body. He stood up, his paw holding Etcetera firmly against him by her butt, and Tugger moved towards his bed. Etcetera's hair flowed around her face, shadowing her eyes when Tugger put her down on her back. She sat up, tugging his jeans so they fell down. Tugger stepped out of them and snaked his paw under Etcetera to unclip her bra. Giggling, Etcetera reached down and pulled at the edge of her jean skirt.

"Don't touch it yet." The order froze Cettie's paw and made her look into his eyes. Tugger moved over her now, pulling her head up to kiss her deeply. It melted her bones and started a warm beat between her thighs.

"Heavyside Tugger, I need you." She groaned against his lips, arching against his paw when it moved up her thigh. Her teal eyes locked with Tugger's and she fisted her paws in his hair.

"Please, I need you now." Obliging, Tugger pushed her skirt up and tore her thong aside. A surprised mew of pleasure escaped Cettie's lips.


	13. Part 13

**Part Thirteen**

Tugger wrapped himself around Etcetera, pulling the naked queen against his chest. She was sleeping, and she looked so cute. One long arm went around her shoulders and Tugger pulled the young queen up so her cheek as resting on his shoulder. Delicate fingers wove through his chest fur, moving over his heart and spreading out there. Tugger watched Cettie sleep, breathing calmly and trying to assess the situation.

He liked her, no. It was just 'like'. The word seemed too impersonal for what was coursing through his blood. Were his hormones on overdrive? Yes, they were; but it felt good. Love. Plain and simple love, that's what he felt for this young queen. Damn all the others, they'd point and whisper. Bombalurina. Oh crap, what was she going to do? What would poor Etcetera be submitted to when the scarlet bombshell figured out what had happened? When she found out that Tugger loved Etcetera?

Etcetera stirred out of sleep, and brought Tugger's thoughts back to the bedroom. Her nose pressed against his fur for a moment, and then her eyes fluttered open. Cettie yawned and looked up at Tugger with a dreamy smile on her face.

"Mornin'." She said, yawning again and sitting up. With a laugh, Tugger sat up and wrapped his arms around Etcetera. He planted a happy kiss on her cheek and nuzzled his nose against her throat. Giggling, Cettie looked at the clock.

"I'll take you up on that offer for a ride home now. My mom'll kill me if I'm late for curfew." Tugger's eyes went to the clock. Almost eight.

"Want some food first? I can have you home by nine if I cook." Cettie gave Tugger a sideways glance and grinned.

"Fine, but no seafood. I'm off seafood for awhile." Nodding his head, Tugger motioned to the shower.

"You're welcome to use it if you want. I'm going to go make some chicken. I have some in the fridge, I think." With that, he left the room in just a pair of boxers. Etcetera wrapped her arms around her knees and put her chin onto them. Yeah, she felt damn good about herself. Now to take a shower and have a tom cook for her. No tom had ever cooked for her. Not even Tumblebrutus, and he was taking foods as one of his classes. With a smug look on her face, Etcetera got out of the bed and went to turn on the shower.

"What the hell gives him the right to do that to me?!?" Bombalurina was storming angrily around Deme's livingroom, waving her cellphone around madly. Deme was reading, looking up every so often at her friend.

"Mm-hmm." She hummed for the millionth time. Bomba stopped her storming to glare at Demeter.

"You know, you could be a little bit of a supporting friend and give me some advice here!" Demeter sighed, putting her bookmark back in her book and leant against her paw. Looking intently into Bomba's flashing blue eyes, Demeter shrugged.

"I told you so?" She supplied, rewarded with a disgusted snarl.

"'I told you so'? What the hell kind of advice is that? I figure out that my boyfriend, no, **ex**-boyfriend, is breaking up with me over the phone and the only thing you can think of saying is 'I told you so'? Heavyside Deme! You're almost as useless as he is!" Anger filled Demeter's face and she stood up. Bomba took a step back when Demeter's ears flattened against her face.

"Yes, Bomba." Each word was accented with an undertone of fury. "That's all I can say because there is nothing else to say. What do you want me to say? It's not like I'm going to go along and placate you after you just buried yourself in self-pity. No Bombalurina, I am not that type of person. You know that, dammit!"

Bombalurina stood stalk still and looked at Demeter down her straight nose. Her red-slicked lips twitched and tears filled her eyes.

"I just want a little support? What am I supposed to want, Deme? The absolutely most perfect guy just broke up with me and I'm feeling betrayed. What am I supposed to do?" Breaking down, Bomba sank on the couch and buried her face in her paws. With a sigh that was almost that of relief, Demeter sat beside her best friend and wrapped her arms around her.

"Bomba, I'm not saying that you shouldn't feel betrayed, but I think that you knew it was coming. I think that deep in your heart you knew that Tugger was going to do something stupid. What did he say to you?" Bomba sniffed unhappily and reached into her pocket for a kleenex. She mopped up black tears that streamed down her cheeks and looked at Demeter.

"He said he had guests over..." Her sentence trailed off and her eyes widened. "No! You don't think he would... But he said..."

Demeter didn't even have time to say a thing before Bomba sailed out of the house; leaving the door wide open.

"Watch out Tugger, incoming betrayed ex." She said, retrieving her book and opening it again.

Rum Tum Tugger and Etcetera were sitting at the table, laughing and joking over the chicken breast that Tugger had made up. They were drizzled with some amazing white cheese sauce and accompagnied by some mixed veggies. The doorbell rang and Tugger looked up at the clock.

"Who the hell?" He said, standing up and going to the door. Cettie put another bite in her mouth, and nearly choked when Tugger opened the door and there stood Bombalurina.

"You stupid, lying, cheating son of a bitch!" Tugger side-stepped just in time to avoid the fist aimed at his jaw. When he did, Bomba stared right at Etcetera. Eyes locked and Etcetera felt like dying. She stood, wringing her paws together when Bomba staggered into the small dining room.

"Bomba, I'm really sorry, I didn't know... I didn't..." Bomba's head snapped towards Tugger and she snarled viciously.

"Don't you dare tell me you're going to think of toying with her next, you damned tom! I can't believe you would think of stringing someone like her along! Heavyside, you have a sick sense of humor." Etcetera stood frozen while Bombalurina verbally smacked Tugger. His head did snap back like she'd punched him and the look that crossed his face made a large sick ball fall in the pit of Cettie's stomach. Bomba kept going until finally Etcetera let out a frustrated cry. Both Bomba and Tugger stopped sniping at each other and turned surprised eyes at Etcetera.

The small tabby's tail was slashing around behind her violently and she was griping her ears with her paws. Her eyes were clamped shut and her upper lip was pulled back in frustration.

"Heavyside! Will you two stop it?!? Bomba, just for starters, it was really my fault. I let Tugger get me here even though I knew he was still dating you. Tugger, you need to back off and let me talk." Etcetera's paw came up to stop Tugger from moving close to her. Going around the table, Cettie faced the taller scarlet queen. Blue eyes locked with Cettie's and tears started to ball up again.

"But he's going to break you apart." Bomba said quietly, putting her arms around Cettie when the younger queen offered a hug. Taking a deep breath, Cettie pulled back to look into Bomba's eyes.

"He won't, and I'll tell you how I can be so sure. Just after you called and Tugger broke up with you, I asked him what I meant to him. I really wanted to know because I really truly like him. Believe me, Bomba, if he'd been lying it would've shown up in his eyes. But there was nothing there Bomba. Nothing. Just the Heavyside truth. He told me that he felt more for me than anyone else. I'm sorry, because I know that hurts, but Bombalurina, I want to believe him." Bomba bumped her forehead against Etcetera's before the younger queen continued.

"I didn't want to come here. We mostly argued the whole way here. I look up to you, Bomba. Always have." Tugger stood back, leaning against the counter as Cettie calmed Bomba with her words. The scarlet queen looked up at him and set her jaw.

"I believe you, Cettie. But just one thing before I try to get out of here with most of my dignity attached. I just have to say, Tugger, that if you hurt here, your hide is mine." Flinching only a little at her words, Rum Tum Tugger crossed and pulled Bombalurina into a hug. She clung to him a little, and buried her nose in his shoulder.

"I love her, Bomba." Both queens looked up at him and saw the truth, and Bomba nodded her head. She smiled up at him, wiping a single tear off her cheek with the back of her paw.

"I know. Talk to you later, Cettie." And Bomba strode out, carrying herself with more dignity than she had when she had burst in. Etcetera closed the door and turned to Tugger.

"I love you too." She whispered, letting herself into Tugger's arms when he opened them for a hug.


	14. Part 14

**Part Fourteen**

Etcetera folded a few t-shirts and smoothed her paws over their surfaces.

_Tugger's leaving._ The sad thought made her sigh. Tugger appeared from the closet with jeans looped over his arm. His ears flicked towards his newest girlfriend and he set the jeans down. Tugger walked over to her and pushed her hair back so he could plant a soft kiss at the base of her jaw.

"What's wrong, love?" It was almost an absent question, but Cettie knew that he was concerned. Turning to him, Cettie put her arms around his neck and nuzzled her head into his shoulder.

"I don't want you to go... I'll miss you." She said sadly. Tugger wrapped his arms around her and kissed her ears in turn.

"I've made plans so I'm not there for two weeks; it's only going to be four days." Round teal eyes came up and the young queen smiled through tears that started to flow down her cheeks. Tugger caught on with his thumb and put his forehead against hers.

"Thanks, that means you'll be here for the dance. You are going to come to the dance, right?" With a laugh, Tugger stroked his finger down Cettie's nose before letting her go to fold his jeans. Cettie picked up the t-shirts she'd folded and placed them into the giant suitcase that had been tossed lazily onto his bed. Socks and underwear were already in their own compartements, and Etcetera put the t-shirts on the right side of the suitcase with her boyfriend's dress shirts. Tugger reached around Cettie and put his jeans into the left side. With a giggle, Etcetera helped Tugger close it and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I'll miss you." She said quietly when Tugger crouched down in front of her. A gentle smile crossed over the lean, handsome face and Tugger nodded his head.

"I know you will, love. And I'll miss you too. I'll think about you before I go to sleep each night, and I'll try to call you every day. The only thing I have to remember is the time difference." Both laughed as they exited the room with his suitcase.

Demeter was sitting in her livingroom, folding the laundry she'd just finished. Her grandparents did their own laundry, and had asked Demeter to do hers and Jemima's. It didn't bother her, rather it calmed her down. No thoughts were filling her head until the doorbell went. With a raised eyebrow, Demeter put down the shirt she'd been folding and pushed herself off the floor. She made her way over to the door and looked out the peephole.

"Bastard!" She snarled angrily, all her fur standing on end when she opened the door. Macavity stood there, paws shoved in his pockets. Demeter's ears were back against her head and she gave the tom at the door a look that would've stopped the Dark Cat.

"What in Heavyside's name do you want, Macavity?" She asked in an icy voice. Her eyes scanned down him and noticed the clean t-shirt and jeans. He didn't smell like marijuana at all, but alot like a shower. Who'd have thought that Macavity took showers? His hair was neatly pulled back in a small ponytail at the base of his neck. There was an almost haunted look in his eyes that made Deme shiver, but she kept her anger upfront. Macavity shifted and looked into her eyes.

"Uhh... Just wanted to come and... see you?" He supplied. Demeter's eyebrow went up at the nervousness filling his voice and her fur smoothed out a little. This was definitely interesting, but she had to remember that this was Macavity. The tom that, on several occasions, had tried to get her to skip school with him to go fool around, tried to get her to do drugs. He was nothing but a bad apple; although in the grand scheme of things, his bad attitude really didn't show in his marks.

"Just come and see me? Heavyside, Mackie, come inside for a minute." Demeter turned and strode over to the laundry. Macavity stepped inside gingerly, some of his bangs coming free from the ponytail. His six-foot frame filled the entryway as his dark green eyes looked around the livingroom. There was subtle interest in them, and he stayed put at the door.

_This just gets more and more interesting..._ Demeter thought when she knelt down and looked at the bad boy tom. He looked almost... innocent, just standing there. He wasn't even looking at her; he seemed to be really interested in all the things that were on the shelves. Clearing her throat, Demeter met Macavity's eyes when they came over to her.

"You can come in, just take off your shoes." Macavity slipped his feet out of his runners, which Demeter noticed weren't the ratty ones. They weren't necessarily something that say Tugger or Plato would wear, but they were clean. He took a few steps over to the bookshelf and scanned over the pictures and figurines there. Demeter watched him, becoming more and more entranced with his behaviour. Her chin tilted up when he turned towards her.

"Is there a specific reason why you're here? Other than to see me?" Macavity rubbed the back of his neck and walked over, kneeling down across the laundry basket from Demeter. He picked up a shirt, and Demeter noticed that his paws were shaking badly.

"I just... well..." He trailed off, taking a few deep shaky breaths. Demeter's eyes scanned his face, watching the gleam of cold sweat spread over his forehead. His paws were twitching and Demeter stood up. She went over to her purse and pulled out a pack of gum. Taking a piece, she knelt beside Macavity.

"Here, chew on this." She said calmly. Macavity looked up at her, his eyes filled with need. His paw covered hers momentarily, and he took the piece of gum.

"Thanks." He muttered, sticking the gum in his mouth and chewing greedily. Demeter watched his face for a second, and then started to stand. Macavity's paw came out and grabbed her wrist, making her stay where she was. It wasn't tight at all, so if she'd wanted to, Demeter could've pulled away.

_Odd,_ She thought. _I don't feel at all threatened or afraid._

Macavity stared into Demeter's eyes, sweat beading along his nose and forehead. With a sudden flash of what Demeter took to be anger, Macavity pushed her away. He wrapped his arms around himself and started to tighten and untighten his grip with frustration. Demeter made a move to go to him, but the ginger tom shook his head.

"No! Don't come near me; I'll hurt you... I don't want to hurt you..." He said in a strained voice, leaning his head back to take several gasping breaths. With a determined frown, Demeter moved behind Macavity and wrapped her arms around him. She pulled him back despite his struggle and rested his head against her shoulder. His green eyes could have born holes in iron, but Demeter put one wine-colored paw firmly on his forehead.

"Just keep looking into my eyes. What the hell were you thinking? You're addicted to pot, you dumb ass; you can't just stop cold turkey." Macavity's upper lip twitched, but he kept looking into Demeter's eyes.

"I wanted to stop... for you. You seem to hate me, though, so I guess it doesn't matter." The fact that he was trying to quit touched something in Demeter's heart, and a smile tugged up the corners of her lips.

"Sometimes, toms are such idiots. I only hated you because you were always trying too hard. You're still trying a little too hard, but I can deal with that for now. If you want to quit, then you have to want to. I see that you do, so we're getting past step one." Her smile was easy, and her paws started to rub off the sweat on Macavity's face and neck.

She was such an entrancing queen. A mystery of sorts, and Macavity loved to sort out the mysteries of life. It seemed to be a hobby of his nowadays. Whatever didn't make sense in his eyes, he had to find out more about it. That was why he'd made some sort of peace with Tugger and borrowed his book on dreams. The damn playboy didn't really need it, did he? The feel of Demeter's soft paws made all his want for his drug shift to a want for her.

Demeter was totally lost in thought, running her paws idly over Macavity's face, tracing the scars he wore from his previous fights. She all but jumped out of her skin when he reached up and skimmed his knuckles against her cheek.

"Sorry... auto reaction." She said with a sheepish smile. Macavity smiled, actually smile, at her and his paw went to play with her hair. What a picture they must have made, Demeter sitting back on her heels with Macavity cradled in her lap. She never really hated him per say, but she hated what he did. The drugs were dangerous, and Demeter didn't want anything to do with anyone who wanted to use a drug to get away from it all. She'd been through that, and swore never to go that route again.

Macavity's paw moved around Demeter's neck, and he pulled her head down towards his. His chin tilted up, and Demeter's paws froze. Her eyes locked with Macavity's, but she didn't stop his pull. His lips brushed experimentally against hers, and when Deme didn't pull back, Macavity closed his mouth over hers. He'd shifted so that it wasn't so awkward. His left arm was extended, supporting the bulk of his weight, and his right paw was laced around the back of Demeter's neck, keeping her head where it was. Demeter's right paw was resting on Macavity's shoulder, and her other rested on his cheek. Her eyes closed gently and the black and gold queen returned the kiss.


	15. Part 15

**Part Fifteen**

"Don't you think Demeter will be at home?" Munkustrap asked as he pulled into the street that Jemima had motioned to. Jemima's blue eyes went up to his face and she grinned.

"A little worried, huh? Me too." She said with a chuckle. Her eyes turned back and locked onto a strange car in front of her house. Munkustrap's eyes were locked onto it as well, and a snarl escaped his lips.

"Macavity." Was the only thing he said as he pulled into the driveway. Jemima all but flew out of the car and ran up to the house. She flung the door open and skidded to a halt when her eyes rested on Demeter and Macavity. Her sister was sitting on the couch, legs draped over the ginger and black tom. In Macavity's paws was a stress ball, and he was gripping it every so often. Both sets of green eyes turned to Jemima, and then went to Munkustrap when he entered. The air seemed to freeze when Munkustrap and Macavity's eyes met.

"Munkustrap, what a pleasure." The sarcastic, loathing tone in Macavity's voice did not go unnoticed by Demeter. Munkustrap's jaw set, and his chin tilted up slightly when he returned Macavity's glare.

"Macavity." Was the only thing he said. His voice was dripping withe venemous hatred, and Jemima took a step towards him. Her paws went to his arm, calming him visibly. Demeter's paw went to Macavity's shoulder, and the tension drained a bit from his face.

"Will you two calm down please? I think I can speak for both Jemima and myself by saying we don't need to be breaking up a fight between you two. Blood stains don't come out of carpets and clothing that easily." Macavity's eyes turned to Demeter and narrowed. Munkustrap made a move to go to Demeter, but Jemima stopped him. Munkus turned to her, meaning to protest, but he saw something in Jemima's face as she stared at Deme and Mackie that stopped him. His mouth closed and his eyes turned back to his old friend and his girlfriend's older sister.

"You have no say in what I do, Deme." Macavity said angrily. Demeter's eyes narrowed onto his face, and filled with anger. The comment straightened her back and Demeter stood up.

"This is where I live, so I have a say in what you do in it. Want to fight? Take it outside!" She all but spat in his face. Macavity's paws twitched, and Munkustrap shifted. He was ready to jump in if he needed to, but Jemima's paw steadied him.

Macavity stood up, looking down at Demeter with anger lining his face. It was an impressive image, the six-foot Macavity having a staring contest with the five foot five Demeter. Both tails were slashing around, but Demeter's ears were flattened against her head. Macavity's face softened a little and his shoulders slumped. Sitting down on the couch again, he ran both paws over his face and leant his elbows against his knees. Demeter folded her arms over her chest and looked down at Macavity. Her eyes didn't move, but she didn't flinch when Macavity's paws came up and took her elbows gently. Munkus and Jemima watched in silent shock and amazement when Macavity pulled Demeter into his lap and pressed his lips against hers.

Frustration, need and anger filled the kiss, and Demeter's paws came up to fist into his hair. Jemima moved her eyes away in a modest move, but Munkustrap's eyebrows went up. Macavity, the tom that he thought had no heart, was actually feeling something for someone. Sniffing the air, Munkustrap couldn't detect any marijuana.

"You're clean, Mac?" He asked calmly. Macavity broke the kiss and looked up at Munkustrap. The awe that was crossing his old friend's face stopped his rude comment, and the smile came easily.

"I've tried... and I'm making an effort now. For her." Macavity pulled Demeter against him again and pressed his lips to hers. With a giggle stiffled against his lips, Demeter wrapped her arms around Macavity's neck. Munkustrap put an arm around Jemima's shoulders and steered her towards the hall.

"We'll leave you two alone then..." Deme pushed Macavity away to shoot a dirty look at Munkustrap. Scrambling to her feet, Demeter all but shot herself towards her sister and the muscular tom.

"Oh no you don't, Munkustrap! That's my little sister you're with and I won't have you two fooling around." Demeter's paw went around Jemima's like a vise. The smaller queen winced, and roughly pulled her arm away from Demeter. The two queens locked gazes and Jemima's lips twitched.

"We're dating, Demeter." She said with a definitely stubborn tone in her voice. Demeter's eyes widened, her gaze going back and forth between Munkustrap and Jemima. With a shake of her head, Demeter stumbled back a step.

"You are what? Oh Heavyside, oh Jemima!" She said, her paw going over her mouth in shock. Munkustrap's ears flattened against his skull, but he met Demeter's gaze all the same.

"I... love her, Demeter." Munkustrap said, his arm going around Jemima's shoulder. The smaller scarlet and black queen looked up at Munkustrap with lots of love in her gaze, her slender paw coming up and lacing with his. Demeter stumbled back, but this time Macavity was right there to hold her.

"I... I don't know what to say anymore. Why, Jemima? He's three years older than..."

"Demeter! Does that really matter?!? It's not like he's going to do anything. He's alot different than most toms; no offense meant Macavity." The ginger tom shrugged, but put his arms around Demeter. Wine-colored paws came up to grip his wrists and Macavity only twitched when Demeter's nails dug in unintentionally.

"I love him, Demeter, and what about you and Macavity? Don't you think that it's a bit strange that you can act like you hate him and that he's a snake one day, and then the next he's like a hero?" Macavity did flinch this time, Jemima's cold words burning into his heart. Demeter glared at her sister and then she sighed.

"Okay, I admit that is a bit odd. I'm sorry, Jemima, but this is so much to take in. Vicky's with Plato, you're with Munkustrap, and now I think I can say that I'm with Macavity." A short laugh followed her statement and Demeter put a paw over her jittery stomach. "Wow! That does stir the nerves."

Munkustrap regarded Macavity uneasily, but managed a smile at his old friend. Something about this was unsettling, but Munkustrap couldn't put his finger on it...

Pouncival was clearing off a table in the ice cream parlor when he noticed Bombalurina. He was a bit down because a little earlier, Electra had come in with his best friend Tumblebrutus, and announced that she was breaking up with him.

_Oh well... life goes on._ He thought drearily, going over to Bomba's table when she settled in an empty booth. Taking a menu from the rack, Pounce put it onto the table. Bomba's blue eyes came up to him and she smiled sadly.

"Hey Pounce, how's it goin'?" Conversation quality, almost nill. Returning the smile, Pouncival shrugged.

"Slowly..." He said with a sigh. The scarlet queen tossed her hair out of her face and looked up at the brown, white and black mixed tom. He gave her a half-hearted lopsided grin and took out his pad and paper.

"What can I get you?" Bomba looked at the menu and wrinkled her nose. Looking back up at Pounce, she shrugged.

"Anything at the moment..." Pouncival's eyebrows went up and Bomba laughed. "A bit down right now. You going on break soon?"

Pouncival looked up at the clock and his mouth twitched in thought. Bomba took a minute to scan over his face, and then over his beach boy styled hair. He was a real cutie, why she hadn't noticed that before was way beyond her. Looking back at Bombalurina with his tawny brown eyes, Pouncival grinned.

"I can get your order and go on break." Bomba grinned and looked at the menu once more before the friendly young tom turned.

"In that case, get me a triple berry sundae." She said, closing the menu and handing it to Pounce with a smile. He grinned back at her and went back to the counter. Bombalurina sighed, folding her arms in front of her and resting her chin against them. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander.

"Bomba?" Her eyes snapped open again when Pouncival touched her arm gently. Concern filled his eyes and Bomba blinked several times to focus.

"What?" Pouncival put the sundae down on the table and sat opposite the scarlet queen. Truth-be-told he had a huge crush on her, but everyone knew, especially him, that someone as popular and pretty as Bombalurina would never go out with him. He reached across the table anyway and took her paw in his. Bombalurina's eyes went down to their paws and then her fingers linked with his. She noticed that she was still wearing the ring from Tugger and frowned. She pulled her paw away from Pouncival's, missing the hurt look on his face, and pulled the ring off. Holding it up in front of her face, Bomba sighed.

"He got this for me three days after we started dating..." She commented absently, twisting it between her fingers so the light glinted off of it. Pouncival nodded his head and listened to her calmly. He'd been told he was a good listener, mostly because he liked to practice. You learnt alot about people when you sat and listened.

"And now look at me, single. And just before the dance! Oh Heavyside." Bombalurina looked down at the sundae and pouted. Taking up her spoon, she dug in greedily. Pouncival's eyebrows went up again, but he took his own spoon and took a bite of the sundae. Bomba's eyes went up to him and she smiled with the spoon in her mouth. Swallowing the bite of ice cream, Bomba waved at Pouncival with her spoon.

"So how's Leccy? Oh!" Her eyes widened when Pouncival looked away quickly, and noticed the hurt filling his eyes. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

"No, no; it's okay. She just... she came in here earlier with Tumblebrutus and told me, no! She basically announced it to the entire parlor, that she was breaking up with me. Made a huge show of giving me back all the jewelery I'd ever given her. She tossed it all on the counter, and... Heavyside." Pouncival stuck his spoon back into the ice cream with an unhappy frown. Bombalurina stared at him and put her spoon down. She leant over a little to catch Pouncival's eyes and gave him a sympathetic look.

"Believe me, hun, I can totally relate. I called Tugger earlier today, wanting to talk to him about his plans for going to Hawaii. He told me that he couldn't talk to me, that he didn't have time to deal with me because he had guests over. It took awhile to click in that he meant female guest. I stormed over to his house and found Etcetera there with him. And, of course, I assumed that he was just using her and got all pissed off; bitching at him and yelling at him that he shouldn't toy with her. And then I figured out that he loved her. Isn't that the loveliest ending to a relationship you've ever heard?" Pouncival stared at Bomba, a spoonful of ice cream halfway to his mouth. A small drip started to run off of the spoon and Bomba reached over to catch it. Her long nails trailed over his wrist accidentally and she sighed.

"So, here we are, both without dates to the dance." Pounce looked at Bomba's paw by his own and raised an eyebrow. It lingered by his paw for a moment, and then she drew it back again. Pouncival put the spoon of ice cream into his mouth, and placed the spoon on a napkin. Reaching over, Pouncival took Bomba's paw again.

"We could go together, you know, as friends." Bombalurina's eyebrows went up this time, and she chuckled. Leaning over a bit, Bomba tilted her head flirtatiously.

"Just as friends?" She asked with a flash of white teeth. Pouncival's throat went dry and he swallowed hard. It took all his will power not to let his eyes wander down to where he was sure he'd see her breasts swell against her top with each breath. With a smile, he leant over a little. His lips strayed dangerously close to Bomba's and he chuckled.

"Depends what you want, Bomba. You get to take the move here..." Bombalurina looked deep into Pouncival's eyes and grinned.

"I get to call the shots, eh? You're treading dangerous ground here, Pouncie darling." With an easy smile now, Pouncival reached up and tucked a lock of black and scarlet hair back from Bombalurina's face. He winked at her.

"I live for the dangerous."

"Then you live for me..." She said, sitting up enough to press her red-slicked lips against Pouncival's. They stayed locked in the kiss, unaware of Jennyanydots's chuckling behind the counter. She shook her head as she dried an ice cream bowl.

"Took him long enough to find the right one..." Jenny said to herself, putting the bowl onto the counter.


	16. Part 16

**Part Sixteen**

Victoria sat on a bench by the lake in the park, her head resting lightly against Plato's shoulder. The muscles rippled everytime he moved, and Victoria marveled in the feel of them under her cheek. Her eyes stayed on the lake, where the colors of the sunset glittered off and reflected in her light blue eyes. It also shone off her white fur and she stayed oblivious to the fact that Plato was staring down at her and not at the majestic white swans that swam lazily over the glittering waters.

"It's so gorgeous out here. Thanks for bringing me here Plato." He smiled, running his paw over her arm, easing the goosebumps that were forming.

"It is nice here, isn't it? A little cold?" He asked, easing out from under his girlfriend's cheek to take his jacket off. Vicky nodded, smiling up at Plato lovingly when he put the jacket around her shoulders.

"Yes, thank you. Oh Plato, you're so nice to me." She said, putting her head back on Plato's shoulder. Her paw went to his chest, tracing over the embroidered design on the upper right breast of the pocket. Plato smiled, taking her paw and bringing it to his lips with an easy kiss.

"It's who I am, and because I love you." Vicky smiled, in totally ecstacy that he told her that all the time. Leaning up, the white queen pressed her lips to Plato's.

"I love you too, honey-bear." Two sets of eyes watched the couple on the bench. One pair was sky-blue and the other pair was dark brown. Cassandra watched Plato and Victoria with mild disgust written on her slender, regal face. Her sister Exotica stood beside her and wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing up and down her arms.

"Why are we watching them, Cassandra? I know it must really hurt your heart to have to..." Exotica spoke quietly, a thick accent lisping her words. Cassandra sent a piercing look her direction and silenced the dark-colored princess. Cassandra's Siamese-patterned face turned back to Plato and Vicky as they stood up and started walking back towards the parking lot of the park. Her cold blue eyes locked onto their twined tails and pain started to pool in them.

Her chin-length, bone straight dark brown hair hung loosely around her face, the wind teasing it as it came through the trees. Exotica's black-brown hair was slightly longer, hanging around her shoulders, but it was the same silky texture and same straight line as her sister's. Her brown eyes were on Cassandra's face and her arms wound around Cassandra's waist.

"Why must it hurt so?" Cassy asked, her accented voice choking off the words slightly. Exotica sighed, nuzzling her nose into Cassandra's silky shoulder and held on tightly.

"Everything hurts, whether it is a good hurt or a bad hurt. Sometimes we must live life with the bad hurts and must just keep moving so it goes away, or until it dulls." The Siamese queen sighed, casting one more longing look after Plato and Victoria before smiling weakly at her sister.

"Let us go, Exotica. It does not make sense to freeze our tails off in this cold air just to make hearts break." She said, leading her sister back to where her deep purple car was parked.

The next day at school, Etcetera was sitting at her desk in Math class chewing on the end of her pencil. She stared at her worksheet, but her thoughts wandered towards Tugger. Was he thinking about her? Did he miss her as much as she missed him?

"Psst... Cettie! Hey!" Cettie shook her head and looked over her shoulder at Electra. The rusty-colored tabby grinned at her and waved a note before tossing it. Etcetera looked up at Asparagus Junior to make sure he wasn't paying attention before leaning to pick it up.

_"I saw you with Tugger the other day... What's going on? Isn't he dating Bomba?"_ Etcetera looked at it and started to scribble down a response. She tossed it back as she stretched and started to tap the end of her pencil against her worksheet.

_"He and I hooked up, Leccy. We're dating now. I'm not sure about Bomba though... she seemed really hurt that Tugger told me he loved me."_ There was a choked gasp from behind her, followed by mad scribbling. The note hit Etcetera in the back of the head and slid into the hood of her cut-off, pale teal hoodie. Reaching over her head, Cettie pulled it out gingerly.

_"You're kidding!!! He actually said that to you? That's totally really major, Cettie. Wow. I'm so jealous. I broke up with Pounce, though... so he can't say that to me. I'm going out with Tumble now..."_ Etcetera gaped at the paper, and cast a shocked look back at her friend. Electra shrugged, going back to work on her math as Etcetera stared at the paper. Leccy broke up with Pounce? But she had always said they were meant to be. Which brought Etcetera to her next thought; where was Pouncival anyways.

_"Well... that's really good I guess. I thought you were totally head over heels for him though. You always said that. What changed? But anyways... have you seen him? I don't see him anywhere..."_ Asparagus looked up as Etcetera threw the note back.

"Ahem. Etcetera, Electra is there something you'd like to say to the class?" Both queens blushed and shook their heads. Raising one eyebrow, Asparagus shook his head. "Then I'd expect no notes in my classroom, please."

Electra and Etcetera exchanged mourngul, embarrassed looks and then continued to do their math work.

When the class was ended, Electra cornered Etcetera against a locker. Her smile was far from the usual friendly Leccy, but Cettie simply looked her in the eyes.

"So, where's your new boyfriend then Etcetera?" Electra asked, looking around to see if she could spot Rum Tum Tugger. Her amber-colored eyes came back to her friend, but simply shrugged and pushed her way out of the cage Electra made with her arms.

"He's gonna be in Hawaii with his parents and older sister until Thursday. Don't give me that look, Electra! I trust him, okay?" Electra rolled her eyes and walked over to the white tabby queen. Putting her arm around Cettie's shoulders, Electra sighed.

"Let me fill you in on a little secret, or maybe its not so secret. At any rate, Tugger's player. Always has been and always will be." With a short snarl, Cettie pushed Leccy's arm off her shoulders. Her eyes caught a movement behind Electra and she side stepped. Etcetera's eyes widened and her paw went over her mouth.

"Holy Heavyside." She muttered, restraining an urge to grin when Leccy turned and saw Pouncival walking down the hall with Bombalurina on his arm. Electra's tail sponged, but she stayed calm and smiled at Pounce when he walked by. When the pair passed, followed by alot of whispering, Electra turned to Etcetera.

"What in the name of Heavyside's name was that all about?" She demanded in a hoarse whisper. Etcetera could tell that Electra was hurt by the change, but Cettie couldn't honestly blame poor Pouncival. Leccy had meant everything to him, and everyone knew that he'd had a crush on Bomba since they had first gotten into junior high school. She'd been popular then, and she was popular now. The only real difference in the scarlet bombshell was the fact that her body shaped had changed and she had all the flirtation down pat.

"Relax Leccy. Doesn't mean nothing until their..." Electra raised an eyebrow and Etcetera shrugged. "Okay, so maybe it does mean something. If you don't remember, you were the one who broke up with him. What did you expect? Him to spend forever mourning his love for you?" Electra's eyes snapped with a hidden fire.

"Yes!" She blurted out, and then her white paws shot over her mouth. Etcetera's eyes were wide like saucers as she watched her rusty-colored friend dash down the hallway, and rush into the bathroom.

"What was that all about?" Jemima walked up beside Etcetera with Munkustrap at her back. Cettie turned to speak, but at the sight of the tall, muscular silver tabby, the only thing that came out of her mouth was a short squeak. Munkustrap grinned at her and held out a paw to shake Etcetera's.

"I'm Munkustrap." He said in his smooth tenor voice. Etcetera swallowed and peered curiously at him.

"Munkustrap. Tugger's friend, right? Or is that... ex-friend now?" She posed the question quietly, and nearly flinched when Munkustrap's ears flattened agaist his head. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

Munkustrap looked down at Etcetera, locking his green eyes on her teal-colored ones. His glazed over with some emotion and Cettie instantly felt guilty about saying anything at all. Jemima reached behind her and took Munkustrap's large paw in her own, lacing their fingers together. Etcetera cleared her throat at the uncomfortably silence, and tried a different approach.

"So, I heard from Bomba that you and Jem are going steady now." Munkus's eyebrow went up and he looked down at Jemima. With a gentle smile, Jem winked at her tabby friend.

"Yep! And how about you? Found that Prince Charming yet?" Love swam across Etcetera's face, bringing a joyful grin onto Jemima's. "Ooh! Do tell!"

Etcetera looked warily up at Munkustrap, hoping that she wouldn't upset him. His eyes were level now, and it set Cettie at ease a little.

"Well... I'm dating Tugger now." The sponging of fur made Etcetera pause momentarily. Jemima looked over her shoulder and Munkustrap and squeezed his paw gently. His tail swished gently behind him, but the wariness in Munkustrap's eyes betrayed all his emotions.

"He told me he loved me. Just kind of stated it, right in front of Bomba even. You should know the feeling; the warm fuzzy feeling you can get all inside when you look at your significant other and you just want to keep all their pain at bay until you can really help them." The smile that spread across both Munkustrap and Jemima's faces made Etcetera grin. "See? I'll bet you're thinking about that right now!"

Letting go of Jemima's paw, Munkustrap pulled Etcetera into a hug. She froze for a moment, not really sure what to do, and then put her arms around him and returned it. Holding the younger tabby at arm's length, the silver tabby tom grinned.

"I was friends with Tugger. It was us and Mackie at one point too. We were the dynamic trio. Unfortunately, Macavity seems to have been trying to turn his life around, and I see Tugger's trying to do the same. I just hope that things do backfire. But just to let you know, if you ever need advice on something Tugger related, I can help you there. Jem can give you my cell number." Etcetera grinned up at Munkustrap and winked.

"Okay! Hey Jem... got any super huge plans for lunch?"


	17. Part 17

**Part Seventeen**

_**Disclaimer: A few sayings in this chapter were adopted by me from **_**"The Jellicle Chronicles"**_** by Rumblepurr.**_

Jennyanydots was wiping down the counters, whistling a cheery tune to herself when the bell to the parlor ran. Looking up, the corners of Jenny's mouth twitched with a smile. Skimbleshanks walked up to the counter and winked at her. Picking up a wet cup, Jennyanydots swirled her towel around inside it.

"Shop's closed." She said flatly, smirking at Skimbleshanks when he put money down on the counter.

"Aye, but ye could spare a poor tom a small ice cream, couldn't ye?" His thick accent wove wonderfully through his words and softened the orange queen's heart. Reaching over the counter, Jenny tapped her fingers against Skimble's cheek.

"I'm sure I could probably spare you a cone. And since Pounce did a lovely job of cleaning before he headed home, I think I may join you with that. We'll step outside and I can lock up." She turned, bustling around to get two cones ready. Skimbleshanks often came into the parlor on Tuesday nights with Asparagus, and sometimes on Thurdays. Jenny swirled soft chocolate ice cream into a cone, placed it into a cardboard hold and then swirled vanilla into another. Turning back to Skimble, Jenny handed him the vanilla cone.

"Now just let me get my stuff and we'll head outside." She said, disappearing into the back. Skimble took a lick of the vanilla ice cream and looked at the chocolate one. Raising an eyebrow, he reached over and took a little off the top with his finger. Jenny reappeared with her light blue sweater on over her blue t-shirt and saw Skimbleshanks put his finger into his mouth. Her large beige purse, spotted with orange, pink and yellow polka-dots, swung by her side as Jenny moved quickly to her ice cream.

"Out!" She said, jingling her keys as she followed Skimbleshanks. He'd changed out of his work clothes, she noted, and scanned her eyes over his tall frame. A smirk spread over her gloss-slicked lips as the older queen handed the Chemistry teacher her ice cream and turned to lock the door. She watched him behind her in the glass of the door and when she turned, Jenny tilted her chin up to look into Skimbleshanks's glassy green eyes.

"Ye look pretty in that color." Skimble commented, flicking a finger over the top edge of Jenny's shirt. Smiling up at him, Jenny winked.

"And you don't look like quite so much of a fuss-pot when you're not all tucked in for work." Skimbleshanks's brow furrowed, and he snagged Jennyanydots around the waist when she went to move around him. Her clear green eyes narrowed onto his face dangerously, but widened with surprise when Skimbleshanks dipped his head and planted a solid kiss on her lips. Pulling back, the pair stared into each other's eyes.

"Randy old goat..." Jennyanydots giggled, smacking her free paw against his arm and licking up drips of ice cream. Skimble winked at her, and pinched her behind lovingly as they made their way over to one of the pale blue picnic tables in front of the parlor. The sun was starting to set, sending pastel pinks, oranges and yellows shooting across the sky. Jenny's eyes scanned the patterns and she grinned. Skimbleshanks was busy on his ice cream, but his eyes were locked onto her face.

"Ye like workin' here, Jenny m'dear?" He asked between licks. Jenny's eyebrows went up and she looked over her shoulder to the business she had made out of dirt. The building, slightly round-shaped, was tall and white with pale blue awning hanging over the edges. _"JENNYANYDOTS' FAMOUS ICE CREAM"_ hung in brilliant blue letters over the door. Smiling to herself, Jenny looked back at Skimble.

"I'm fairly please with my work, yes. What about you? Do you enjoy watching students play with dangerous chemicals every day?" With a grin, the orange tabby tom leant over the table and put his nose dangerously close to the orange tabby queen's.

"Sometimes, ye get this odd thrill. But other than that, it be what I wanted to do all m'life." Jenny grinned, sticking her cone between her face and Skimble's and crunching on the waffle cone. Skimbleshanks straightened and finished off his cone while keeping his green eyes on Jenny's face.

"Ye should come tae visit m'dear. I believe ye would have a grand ole time wit' it." Jennyanydots's right eyebrow went up and she tilted her chin up to look down her nose at Skimbleshanks.

"Come to visit you? Who would I have keeping the parlor then? I only really have Pouncival that I trust it with... and he's in school." Skimbleshanks leant over and caught Jenny's lips in a short kiss.

"Aye, but ye should get out more often. There is a cozy little place I'd like to show ye." Mischief sparkled over Jennyanydots's round white and orange face, and mirrored in Skimbleshanks's eyes.

"I'll be there."

Etcetera raced to the phone when it rang, picking it up and taking a deep breath to calm herself.

"Hello?" She asked in a seemingly natural voice. She was shaking, and when her mother walked out into the hallway, Cettie grinned at her.

Nabira was a tall queen, at least compared to her daughter. Her fur was white, with the exception of the two brown stripes in her hair and a few odd patches that covered her back. The stripes Etcetera had were from her father. He didn't live with them anymore because he resented his daughter and his marriage with Nabira. The slender white queen had been a dancer before her daughter, and when she heard the news, Sebastien had insisted on her retiring. Now she didn't have the flexibility, so she had no money from that. She worked as the school's librarian now, irritating Etcetera with the boundless source of information for her projects. Her clear blue eyes scanned her daughter's face before she turned, cigarette in paw, back into the living room.

"Don't be on the phone all night." She said in a low, raspy voice. Etcetera grinned, taking another deep breath.

"Tugger? Yeah. Sorry, my mom just came in. No, no problem. Yeah. Miss you too hun. No, things are pretty normal. I... what? Oh! Really? That's awesome! I'm glad you're having fun. What? Oh... wait a minute." Etcetera put the phone to her shoulder and walked to the livingroom door. She looked in at her mother, who was lounging gracefully on the couch.

"Mom?" Nabira's ears swiveled towards the door in response.

"Can I have a friend over in, like, three days?" Blue eyes came around and Etcetera bit the inside of her cheek when she noticed the suspicion in her mother's eyes.

"Who?" Cettie motioned with the phone and Nabira's head turned all the way around.

"That doesn't answer my question, Cettie. I know we have a phone." Nabira grinned in a teasing manner, making Etcetera's vibrant smile appear. She never smiled enough anymore, Etcetera thought, winking at her mother.

"His name is Rum Tum Tugger. He's... my boyfriend." Eyebrows went up and Nabira stood gracefully. Easing one hip on the back of the slightly discolored salmon floral couch, mother faced daughter.

"And I never knew about him because?" Nabira motioned with her cigarette, reaching behind her to tap the ashes into her fancy tray. Etcetera chewed her lip and walked into the room.

"Well... I didn't know if you'd... approve of me having a boyfriend." Nabira looked down at her daughter, and then pulled her into a hug. Nabira snagged the phone and brought it up to her ear.

"Hello? Yes, Tugger? Hi. I'm Etcetera's mom. No, no, no. You're not in trouble." The laughter that bubbled from Nabira's mouth made Etcetera grin. Her mother never laughed enough anymore. Her father had taken that, and her career, with him when he'd walked out of that door five years ago. Damn bastard.

"No, but I hear you want to stick around. I mean, hang around. I'm a bit off with my modern slang. Yeah that's fine. Hawaii? Lucky tom, you. No, I have no problem with it. As long as you two keep things relatively quiet, I'll be fine." Nabira aimed a wry wink at her blushing daughter and handed back the phone.

"Seems like a decent guy. Been through alot, by the sounds of his voice. Have fun!" Nabira waved her free paw at her daughter and went back to the movie she was watching. Something with comedy, Etcetera noted absently as she walked upstairs with the phone.


	18. Part 18

**Part Eighteen**

"Will you stop twitching already? It doesn't hurt that much!" Demeter dabbed iodine on a red gash on Macavity's cheek. His green eyes glared darkly at her, but the black and golden tabby's attention was intently on the cut.

"If you didn't fight so much you would've have to be put through this routine every single time." Demeter smoothed ointment over the cut and reached behind her for the Band-Aids. Several days had passed since Tugger had gone away and Macavity had shown up on Demeter's doorstep. Tugger was going to be getting off the plane in an hour or two, so Jemima was off with Etcetera to get ready. Macavity hissed through his teeth when Demeter's nimble paws smoothed the Band-Aid onto the cut.

"There." She said, grabbing Mackie's chin and turning him to face her.

"Was that so bad?" The cold sarcasm was exclaimed within Macavity's green eyes.

"Is that a rhetorical question?" He asked, standing up and narrowly missing smacking his head against the light. Rolling her eyes, Demeter pushed past him. He didn't smoke pot anymore, but he was still smoking. Demeter would go with him to buy cigarettes, and they were still working on gradually weaning him off of those. The black and ginger tabby tom didn't smell quite so bad now.

Macavity watched the gold and black queen walked down and hall and smiled. Looking up at the clock, his eyes narrowed.

_Roughly... two hours and I'll need to get out of here. _He gauged, going up behind Demeter and kissing the base of her jaw gently. With a gentle smile spreading over her lips and Demeter turned to Macavity. The Band-Aid added to the bad boy image, but Demeter found it endearing somehow. Reaching up, Demeter pulled Macavity's lips down to hers. With her eyes closed, Demeter missed the roll of the eyes Macavity gave her as he scooped her up into his arms and headed towards the bedroom.

"Just to let you know, I'm going to have to go soon, love. I have an appointment with my counselor in about two and a half hours." Deme's eyes opened and locked onto his face and a smile smoothed out her worry.

"Alright..." She managed before a surprised mew of pleasure escaped her lips.

Macavity drove down the freeway, one of his arms hanging lazily against the inside of his car door. His ginger and black hair whipped around his face, large black sunglasses shading his eyes. Macavity turned down onto an alleyway, going in behind some of the urban lots. Whistling a tuneless melody, Macavity pulled into the open garage of a large, pearly white and slate blue house. A white figure moved in the window at the back of the house and the ginger tom's lips curled into a smile.

Griddlebone opened the door, a snug light blue blouse hugging her ample breasts. Her icy blue eyes met Macavity's and she looked around. Moving aside, the white Persian let Macavity in.

"You're late." She said in a smooth-as-cream voice. It was said in a bone-chilling tone, but the ginger tom just shrugged it off. Moving behind the pretty white queen, Mackie kissed her throat, nipping lightly.

"I was caught up." He muttered against her throat. Griddlebone rolled her eyes, pulling away from Macavity and heading towards the living room. She slid onto the faux suede couch, pulling a few pillows behind her for support. She regarded the tall, lithe tom through half-mast eyes and a smile curved her cruelly painted red lips. Patting the place between her knees, Griddlebone tilted her head to one side. When Macavity came to sit at her knees, Grid pulled him back and cushioned his head against her breasts. Her long nails sifted through his long hair, and a delighted smile lit up her icy features.

"You've washed your hair; should I be impressed?" Macavity looked up at her with a smirk and tilted his head up to capture her lips in a fierce kiss. Griddlebone's paws went from Macavity's hair down to smooth over the black material of his silk shirt. Purring approval in the back of her throat, Griddlebone pulled away from the kiss to shake her hair out of her face.

"Maybe you should, maybe you shouldn't. You know I'm seeing Demeter and you have no idea what kinds of things she's having me do. She wants me to go get my hair trimmed." A slender, arched brow went up on the left side of Griddlebone's face and her lips pursed together. Long nails trailed along Mackie's hallowed masculine face. Griddlebone contemplated him a moment, her cold blue eyes taking in his facial features and scanning over his long frame. A smile curled her lips again, but it was devoid of warmth. Leaning over, Griddlebone nipped at Macavity's lips.

"You need to do something for me love..." It was a cold tone in her voice, and Macavity felt a shiver of anticipation fly through him. When Griddlebone started to whisper in his ear, however, Macavity's face fell and his eyes widened.

"But..." Griddlebone put her finger over his lips and pressed her lips to her finger.

"You can do it, and you will." Grid's eyes flashed with something malicious, and Macavity nodded his head. He sat up and gathered the pretty Persian queen into his arms. Her fingers spread over his chest and then went up to lace around his neck. Macavity's lips coursed over her cheeks and down to her neck. The far away look in his eyes was missed when he kissed her throat.

"I will..." He said quietly.

The next day at school, Munkustrap was walking with his friends Alonzo, Plato and Coricopat. Cori was a newer student, and had an identical twin sister, Tantomile. They were quiet and mostly stuck to themselves, but Munkustrap liked Coricopat. He was almost like having a philosopher with him at all times. Alonzo and Plato had been his friends for as long as the silver tabby could remember. They'd always stuck together, doing everything the others did. Of course, that constantly got them into all sorts of trouble. But in high school, it was a great advantage. When Munkustrap had joined football, Plato and Alonzo joined. When Alonzo had joined the all boys choir, Munkus and Plato had joined. When Plato had decided to join an after school swim club, the other two had joined.

Alonzo's blue eyes were scanning the crowd, and Munkustrap was helping him look for someone. Alonzo had said something about his father adopting his cousin. So now the three were looking for him. Mistoffelees was apparently short, but he was black and white like Alonzo. Plato elbowed Alonzo, pointing towards the cafeteria. The black and white tom's eyes followed his friend's paw and he grinned.

"There he is! Come on, lets go." He said, heading off to intercept his cousin. Munkustrap's green eyes caught sight of him then; he was indeed short, but not quite as short as Alonzo had made him out of be. Misto was about Jemima's age, he gathered, and was marked with more tuxedo markings than a plain black and white mixed pattern. He reminded Munkus and Plato alot of Alonzo's father, Bustopher Jones. The burly tuxedo tom ran a restaurant downtown, and it seemed very likely that he'd adopt his nephew when his sister died.

Alonzo walked up to Mistoffelees and put a paw on his shoulder. Blue eyes came up with the childish face, and sparkled with a smile. Alonzo grinned down at him before settling down on the bench beside his cousin.

"Hey Alonzo, what's up?" Misto closed the sketchbook he was holding, and his eyes went up to Munkus and Plato. Curiosity filled his face, and Alonzo grinned.

"Not too much, Misto. These are my good friends Munkustrap, Plato and Coricopat." The black and white mix motioned to each in turn and Misto grinned. It was almost like looking at a cherub, with a slightly less round face. There were two small dimples in Mistoffelees's cheeks when he smiled, and Munkustrap couldn't help but grin at him. Plato extended his paw, clasping Misto's tightly and grinned at him.

"Hey little man." Mistoffelees's eyebrow went up and he looked at Alonzo. The older black and white cleared his throat, looking up at Plato with a quirky smile. Coricopat chuckled quietly in the background, sitting down on the bench on the opposite table to watch the others. He wasn't a very social person, but he enjoyed being around others.

"Little man? That'll take some getting used to." Misto said dryly, but flashed a quick grin at Plato. The rusty and white mix laughed, slapping his paw on Misto's shoulder.

"I like him already. So, little man, what kinds of classes are you signed up for this semester?" Lips pursed together, Misto took out his schedule and scanned it.

"I have art, math, band and science. Oh! And this after school work out thingy..." Munkustrap rubbed his chin and the sides of his mouth, his lips twitching with amusement. Plato howled with laughter, making Mistoffelees smile and Alonzo grin.

"Thingy?" Munkus asked with a smile. Mistoffelees looked up at him with a shrug.

"For lack of a better word..." Laughing, Munkustrap grabbed a vacant chair and straddled it. Looking down at the sketchbook in Misto's lap, Munkustrap motioned to it with a black paw.

"Mind if I take a look, kid?" Misto's eyes followed Munkustrap's gaze and he shrugged again. It was a careless gesture, but the time spent with Jemima rubbed off a little on Munkus and he could see that Mistoffelees was a little excited about his work. Grinning, Munkustrap flipped to the front page; and was completely blown away.


	19. Part 19

**Part Nineteen**

Munkustrap sat there, staring at the tidy, shaded sketch of a family setting. It was a living room, light shining in from the lavishly furnished window, and a pair of young kids were rolling on the ground. On the couch in the background, a young couple sat wrapped in each other's arms. Misto had managed to capture a look of absolute love in their eyes and Munkus felt his mouth go dry.

"Holy shit, kid. This is amazing!" Munkus muttered, flipping the page and blinking. Jemima seemed to stare at him off the page, and Mistoffelees shifted uncomfortably. He'd been watching her with her friends, and had been completely compelled to do a portrait of her. When Munkustrap's eyes came up, Misto saw the bewildered awe in his eyes and managed to swallow the lump in her throat. Jemima was laughing in the picture, tears showing slightly in the corners of her eyes. The dimple in her right cheek was showing and Munkustrap was shaking as he turned the page. Misto caught the page and pulled the sketch out with a deft tug. Holding it out to Munkustrap, the black and white tuxedo grinned.

"You can have it if you want. I drew it last night when I first got here. She was with her friends in front of the movie theatre, and..." His tongue caught his sentence, and he stumbled off when his eyes caught a movement at the cafeteria door. Jemima walked in with Etcetera, Electra and Tugger. Munkustrap looked over his shoulder, grinning and waving at Jemima as she raced over. Putting her arms around Munkustrap's neck, Jemima nuzzled his cheek gently. Her eyes looked down at the picture and widened with surprise and glee.

"Is that me? Who drew it?" Alonzo pointed at his cousin, whose eyes were lowered as he blushed. Jemima grinned, stepping around Munkustrap to hug Misto. He jolted, blushing more but he managed to weakly return the hug. Pulling back so she could look into the young tom's eyes, the scarlet tabby smiled warmly.

"It's lovely. Actually, it's amazing! I'm totally in awe." She said, planting a soft, chaste kiss on his cheek. Munkustrap regarded the exchange quietly and smiled. They were really cute together; Jemima deserved that. He was leaving at the end of the year, but he assumed that Misto was going to be around for awhile; it was even a possibility that Jem and him were in the same grade.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it." Jemima flashed a warm smile at Misto before turning to her boyfriend. He was deep in thought, and the vibes of consideration and wariness made Jemima's skin crawl. She didn't like them at all, but she was sure that things would be alright. Her eyes went up to Coricopat, who bowed his head respectfully to her. She smiled, her thoughts shifting to his twin sister. Tantomile was a nice queen, but she was very quiet and very reclusive. Jemima couldn't even remember seeing her talking to anyone except Coricopat.

"Hey Cori, how's Tant?" The slender male tilted his chin up and raised an eyebrow. It never ceased to amaze him that people actually cared about how him or his sister were. With a smile curling up the corners of his lips, Coricopat blinked.

"She's doing well, thank you Jemima. I would like to see her keeping company, but she's still a bit jetlagged about the whole move." Munkustrap looked up at Coricopat, and then shot a single look at Jemima. Alonzo and Plato exchanged looks while Misto looked around the group. He let out a breath and leant back against the table.

"Talk about feeling like the outsider." He said with a small grin. Jemima looked down at him and then moved to sit beside him. Not at all uncomfortable around the new tom, Jemima made herself right at home; asking Mistoffelees a pile of questions about his old school and friends. Shaking his head, Alonzo stood up and stretched.

"Well I'll see you later, Misto. Dad's coming after school to come and pick us up because my car is in the shop." Misto tore his eyes away from Jem for a minute to look up at his cousin and grin.

"'Kay, sounds like a plan." He said, going back to answer a few more questions for Jemima. Plato, Munkus and Coricopat followed Alonzo as he walked out of the cafeteria.

Once the quartet was out of the cafeteria and heading into the courtyard, Alonzo gave Munkustrap a sideways look.

"So what's going to go on between you and Jemima? She seems awfully comfy with my cousin..." The silver tabby shrugged, trying not to linger on the thought. Plato and Alonzo exchanged knowing glances, and Coricopat put a paw on Munkustrap's shoulder.

"You know, my friend, sometimes when we're seeking answers, talking to our friends is the only way to really find them." Munkus chuckled, looking back into Cori's golden eyes. They shimmered with a smile, and the black, white and brown tom bowed his head.

"Okay, but I don't know. I just don't know anymore. I mean, in the beginning I felt like Jemima was my world. Now she's like a very close younger sister to me. We barely spend any time alone anymore. We're always either with Deme and Mackie, or we're with Cettie and Tugger. There's just no... physicality anymore." Plato let out a sigh and walked over to his oldest friend. The silver tabby looked deeply into the rusty and white tom's eyes, feeling a deep connection with his old friend.

"Queens can get difficult with little intimacy, believe me. But the thing is, Jemima respects you. She would probably do anything for you if you asked; that's who Jemima is. Do you want to be with her?" Used to the blunt questions, Munkustrap squared his shoulders and turned his body to face his friend.

"I want to be around her, but I'm still bothered by the being with Jemima. I love her, loved... I'm not sure." With a frustrated snarl, Munkustrap turned away from Plato, Alonzo and Coricopat. There was a movement behind him, and suddenly slender arms wrapped around his waist. A distinctly female form pressed against his back and Munkus felt a cheek resting against his shoulder blades. When the person drew back, Munkustrap turned to face Tantomile. The queen was identical to Coricopat, but was female obviously. Her large, slightly almond-shaped golden eyes looked up into his face, and a ghost of a smile appeared on her lips.

"Good day Munkustrap." She spoke in a smoky voice, and bowed her head in the same way her brother always did. Munkus smiled at Tantomile, taking her paw in his and kissing her knuckles gently. A blush colored her cheeks and Tant's ears pressed back against her head lightly. Her free paw went over her lips, nearly hiding the smile. Munkustrap rubbed her knuckles gently before letting go and putting his paw into his pocket.

"How's things, Tantomile?" He asked, oblivious to the looks his trio of friends were exchanging. Tantomile, however, wasn't so oblivious. Without turning, her ears swiveled towards them and her feathery tail gave a single irritated swish. The corners of Tant's mouth curled up tentatively, as if she didn't know how to smile.

"Things are... going." Munkustrap turned and held out his arm. With a delighted smile, Tantomile wrapped her arm around it and let Munkus lead her away from her twin, Plato and Alonzo.

"He's so got it bad for your sis, Cor." Plato snickered, getting an unaccustomed elbow from the slender tom. Coricopat looked at him with a smirk and shook his head.

"Wonder what Jemima's gonna think about this..." Alonzo said quietly, turning and walking in the opposite direction that Munkus had led Tantomile.

Jemima was watching her boyfriend's antics through one of the windows, Mistoffelees, Tugger and Etcetera at her side. Cettie squealed in horror when Munkustrap moved his arm around Tantomile's waist, drawing a shy smile out of her. Tugger watched, completely perplexed. Who'd have known that Tantomile actually expressed emotions; kudos to Munkustrap! Mistoffelees was feeling sorry for Jemima, I mean, that was her boyfriend she was watching. Turning to her, Misto cleared his throat.

"I'm sorry Jemima..." He said quietly. Jemima looked over at him and shook her head.

"There's no need. I knew it was coming. We've lost all intimate feelings for each other, and I feel slightly awkward being alone with him. It's like I'm making out with my really close older brother." Making a face, Jemima peeked back out the window.

"And I'm glad that Tantomile seems comfortable with him. She's really quiet, and doesn't like much company. She tolerated me, Vicky and Leccy a little while ago, but she hardly said anything." Shrugging, Jem turned away from the window and opened her arms. Blinking in confusion, Misto simply looked at her. With a sigh in the background, Tugger reached over and gave Mistoffelees a light push into Jemima's arms. She wrapped him into a hug and buried her nose in his shoulder fur. Tears streamed down her nose and sobs shook Jemima's delicate frame.

"Oh no Jemmie! Don't cry!!!" Tugger held Etcetera back from Jemima, and the young tabby shot an angry glare over her shoulder at him.

"Let them have a moment, love." He said, nodding his head at Misto and Jemima. Cettie turned back to them, blinking when she saw that Misto was gathering Jemima into his lap and cradeling her gently. With a mystified smile, Cettie walked away with Tugger.

"They're so cute together..."


	20. Part 20

**Part Twenty**

Coricopat and Exotica were whispering to each other as they sat at their desks in English class. They were waiting for the bell to ring, and for their teacher Mrs. Jellylorum to arrive. Oddly enough, the strict elderly queen was running late, but who were the students to question her? Exotica's head popped up when she heard Jelly's voice, but she continued to titter quietly. Jellylorum entered the room, but she was almost walking sideways. Coricopat shot a raised eyebrow at his Burmese friend, but turned to face the front when Jellylorum put her folders and files down on her desk.

Casting an expertly raised eyebrow at her students, Jellylorum called for the attention of her class. The blue folder she took off the top of her pile was opened, and Jelly raised her eyes once more to her class.

"Now before I take attendance, I want to introduce to you two new students to our class. Come, come!" Jelly waved her paw and the doorway, and two orange tiger tabbies stepped in. The tom was taller than the princess, standing at about five nine. The shorter queen, standing roughly five six, looked around the class with a quirky smile. They were almost identical with the shapes of their faces, the poses they stood in and the way their eyes flashed with mischief. The elderly queen eyed the two and smiled gently.

"These are Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer; two transfer students from across the ocean in London. Please welcome the new students." Mungojerrie flashed a white grin at the princesses in the front row, starting up a minor twitter. Rumpleteazer rolled her eyes, moving to take a seat next to Exotica. The dark Burmese princess smiled at Rumpleteazer, opening her binder to a new page. Teazer looked at Jellylorum and then turned to Xoti.

"'Ello ducks! Oi'm Teazah... who ahe yew?" She asked, her accent almost too thick for even Exotica to deceifer. Dark brown eyes came up from the binder and a blush tinted the dark princess's cheeks. Rumpleteazer grinned, her freckles speckling across her straight, petite nose. Mischief was glittering through the brilliant green eyes of the young tiger tabby and Exotica felt a smile cross over her unpainted lips.

"I'm Exotica. That princess over there? The blond Siamese? That's my cousin Pharrasophatees; most of us refer to her as Pharra or Sophie." Rumpleteazer's lips pursed as she mulled over the name.

"Oi fink Oi'll jus' stick wit Sophie... Oi 'ave a difficult toime wit pronouncin' me r's." Exotica nodded her head and looked back up at Jellylorum when she called out her name.

Mungojerrie had taken a seat between Coricopat and Pharrasophatees. The arrogant young tabby flashed a white smile at the blond Siamese, who dismissed him with a cold shoulder and dismissive flick of her hair, and then he turned his attention towards Coricopat. 

"She don't seem too 'appy, do she?" Coricopat turned his golden eyes to look into Mungojerrie's green ones. The brown, black and white calico tom didn't know that they shone with the identical mischief that shone in Teazer's, but he raised an eyebrow.

"She just doesn't take well to the new arrogance in the school; we have enough of that with one of our senior students." Jerrie nodded his head gravely, and then extended his paw to Cori for a shake. White paw grasped black in a friendly gesture, and Jer flashed a friendly grin at Coricopat.

"Oi suppose yew already knaiwe moi naime... who ahe yew?" He asked, leaning back in his chair to stretch his arms out behind him. Coricopat watched him for a moment with his entrancing golden eyes, not missing the shy smile and longing gaze from Pharrasophatees, and then shifted to sit more facing the new tom.

"I'm Coricopat. My twin sister is sitting back there..." Coricopat pointed. Looking up at the blond Siamese, Coricopat smile. "This is the ever lovely Pharrasophatees, and sitting over there with the one I'm assuming is your twin is Pharrasophatees' cousin, Exotica."

Taking all the new faces, Mungojerrie sighed.

"Oi probly won't remembah most of dos. Oi'll try, moind yew, but Oi can't promise anyfing."

Tumblebrutus was sitting in the library, enjoying his spare class on the computer. His fingers danced across the keyboard as he scoured the internet. Pouncival walked up behind him and put his paws in his pockets, watching the sites that popped up as Tumble typed. Since the tan, black and white mix had his headphones in, he didn't notice his friend.

"You know, you really shouldn't be looking on eBay at school, dorkus." Pouncival said as he pulled one of the ear pieces out. Tumblebrutus turned his golden brown eyes towards his friend and grinned.

"Hey Pounce, how's things? Oh! And I saw you and Bomba hanging out this morning... how are things with her?" Pouncival pulled up at chair to sit beside his friend and shrugged leisurely. Grinning at Tumble, the brown, black and white mix leant back with a sigh.

"Things are going with me, and definitely good with Bomba. I think we're going to be something, you know? I mean, we're even buying each other stuff now..." Pouncival reached up to his throat and pulled out a fine gold chain necklace from the inside of his shirt. Tumble's eyebrows went up and he put his fingers under the chain to take a closer look. Whistling admirably between his teeth, gold-brown eyes came up with a smile.

"Nice; what'd you get her?" Tumble let the chain fall back against Pouncival's grey patterned t-shirt. The top three buttons were undone, revealing the lithe muscles across the tom's upper chest. Tumblebrutus turned back to his computer and closed the eBay window.

"I got her a diamond necklace." Pouncival said and his best friend choked. Looking back at Pounce, Tumblebrutus stared.

"You got her what?!?" He demanded in a low hiss. The librarian looked over her wide-rimmed glasses at the two toms and pursed her lips. Tumblebrutus cleared his throat and leaned closer.

"I repeat, you got her what?!?" With a grin on his face, Pouncival winked at Tumblebrutus.

"You heard me, dorkus. I got her a diamond necklace. Small diamond, you know? Heart-shaped..." Tumble shook his head and a smirk spread across his slim face. His pointed jaw lifted so his eyes were level with Pouncival's tawny brown ones.

"You're a fool, Pounce; you know Bomba's record for boyfriends. You're just another one..." A strangled snarl set both toms' backs up and Pouncival glared a Tumble with his upper lip twitching. The fur on his tail sponged and it swiped back and forth angrily.

"You know nothing about Bomba, Tumble. Don't fucking judge her based off of your fucking gossip. I thought she was going to be what everyone says she was, but she isn't. Something has changed in her since she and Tugger broke up. Something major." With a snort of distaste and a cold glare, Pouncival stood up and strode out of the library. Tumblebrutus rubbed his eyes with his fingers and went back to his computer. Logging off, the tan, black and white tom stood and exited as well.


	21. Part 21

**Part Twenty-One**

Rumpleteazer was walking with Exotica down the mostly empty hallways. They both had a spare class and were going to spend it outside by the football field. The team would be practicing, so they'd have something to amuse themselves with.

"Yew mean to say yew've nevah 'ad any feelin's foh a tom?" Teazer's green eyes peered sideways at Exotica. The dark Burmese shrugged and smiled wistfully.

"I know it might seem a little weird, it is just that there is never anything there when I'm with a tom. No twittering feeling in my heart, no butterflies in my stomach." Rumpleteazer nodded her head and pursed her lips in thought.

"Caime to fink of it, Oi don't fink Oi've evah 'ad any feelin's fer a tom eithah. Oi guess it was just luck, yew knaiwe? Oi've seen what luv seems ta do to some people and Oi'd rathah not 'ave to deal wit dat." Exotica smiled. The pair passed the janitors closet, and suddenly Exotica stopped. Her ears swiveled back towards the closet, and then her eyes went to it.

"Do you hear that?" Rumpleteazer stopped, looking back. Her orange ears pricked up and she listened hard. Her eyes widened and Rumpleteazer walked back to stand with Exotica by the door. Grunts, pants and kisses sounded from the other side of the door when both princesses pressed their ears lightly against it.

"Who do yew s'ppose it is?" Teazer whispered in Exotica's ear. Exotica straighted and shrugged, motioning towards the door with her free paw. Rumpleteazer shook her head and closed her paw around the door. A strangled yelp escaped Exotica's lips when Teazer opened the door.

Both of the princesses stood gaping when they saw who was inside. Skimbleshanks was leaning against the wall, his eyes wide with disbelief, and Jennyanydots had her legs wrapped around Skimble's waist, her eyes mirroring the disbelief. Exotica's eyes dropped to the ground as she scrambled towards the door. Teazer, however, was stuck in place, her mouth dropped open with shock.

"Uhh... Oi... Oops!" She said, putting a paw over her mouth and running towards the door. Jenny scrambled off of Skimbleshanks and pulled her knee-length jean skirt down. Skimbleshanks tugged the wrinkles out of the front of his white dress shirt, buttoning it up from the middle where it had been. He smoothed the bottom edge of the shirt into the waist of his brown dress pants and buttoned them up as well. Jennyanydots fixed her make up, embarassement coloring her cheeks. Looking up at Skimbleshanks, Jenny started to giggle.

"I can't believe we were caught by a student." She said, reaching up to fix Skimble's orange and brown hair. His large, slender paw caught her wrist, turning it so he could kiss her paw. The orange and white queen smiled, standing up on her tip toes to kiss his lightly on the cheek.

"We'd best be careful not tae be doin' that sorta thing again, m'dear. Unless ye plan on finishing up later..." Jenny pulled herself up to meet Skimble's lips with a fiery, impatient kiss.

"I want to finish this later, love, but right now I should be getting back to the shop and you should be going and preparing a lesson. Come pick me up at around nine thirty." Skimble nodded, fixing his cuffs as he walked back towards his classroom. Jenny touched her lips gently and smiled.

"Until later, my love..." She whispered, and walked out of the school with her polka dot bag swinging.

Exotica and Rumpleteazer leant against the football goal post, panting and wheezing from running all the way from the school. Alonzo, Munkustrap and Plato were getting the equipment out and spotted the two queens. Alonzo's eyebrow went up when he saw the new queen, elbowing Plato and motioning with his head.

"Who's the newb?" He asked, putting the giant bag of footballs down. Plato shrugged, trying to get a better look at the tabby's face. Munkustrap put the shoulder pads he was carrying down and looked at her.

"One of the new transfer students; Rumpleteazer I think her name is. Her brother, Mungojerrie is in my sports performance class. He was talking about his sister. I think that's her. At any rate, let's get this equipment out before the sophmores get here and complain." The trio went back to the equipment storage to get the last of the stuff they needed.

"I cannot believe I just saw what I think I just saw!!!" Exotica said with a laugh, leaning her back against the pole and sinking to the ground. Rumpleteazer dissolved into giggles, sinking down to her knees beside Exotica.

"Oi fink moi eyes ahe bleedin'! Oi cannot believe yew fink dat was our chemistry teachah and that ice cream pahloh ownah. Oi just can't believe yew!" Looking over her shoulder, Xoti smiled.

"Believe me, Teazer, because that's exactly who that was! Oh Heavyside! I'm never going to be able to concentrate in chemistry class now!" Teazer shaded her eyes with her paw and looked over the field at the toms as they put the equipment down. Exotica's eyes followed Teazer's and she smiled.

"Aww yes! The jocks... want to go meet them? They're really very nice toms, just... slightly more muscular than most." Rumpleteazer jumped to her feet and offered Exotica her paw. Taking the help, Exotica pulled herself up off the ground and came nose to nose with Rumpleteazer. Exotica's dark brown eyes locked with Rumpleteazer's green ones and both caught their breath. Exotica's lips trembled on a breath and Teazer pulled away, blushing.

"So ahe we gonna go naiwe?" She said, grinning at Xoti. With a shaken smile, Exotica walked past Teazer towards the trio of toms.

"Hello Munkustrap, Alonzo and Plato; how are you?" Munkustrap straightened, his chest straining a little against his white tank top. He shaded his eyes and looked at Exotica with a flash of a white smile. Rumpleteazer looked over Exotica's shoulder at the three. Alonzo had neglected his t-shirt and had it stuffed into his back pocket, so his toned muscles rippled under the black and white splashes of fur on his chest. Plato was also not wearing a shirt, but his frame was slightly less wide than Alonzo's six foot frame. His muscles were toned, and his white and rusty-colored fur glistened with sweat under the high sun.

"Hey Exotica, and... Rumpleteazer, is it? I'm Munkustrap." The tiger tabby queen eased out from behind Exotica and smiled. Stepping forward, Teazer offered her paw to Munkustrap; jolting only a little when his large paw closed over hers. The smiles were friendly and Exotica let out a breath. Alonzo stepped over the equipment and to Xoti's side. Nudging the shorter princess with his elbow, Alonzo grinned. Exotica looked up at him with a friendly smile.

"Hey Xoti and Teazer. I'm Alonzo."

"And I'm Plato." The rusty and white tom stepped over the equipment, wiping his paws on a ragged towel. Rumpleteazer grinned, her freckles wrinkling a little on her cheeks. Looking up at the sky, Teazer frowned.

"Yew gois practice in this 'eat? Doesn't dat get kinda bothahsome?" She asked, not bothered by the surprised looks on the toms faces.

"Neat accent." Alonzo said, winking at Exotica. The Burmese rolled her eyes, stepping out from under the arm Alonzo had tried to snake around her shoulders. Walking over to the bench, Exotica picked up a basket full of twenty empty bottles.

"Do you want me to go fill these up?" Munkus looked over at Exotica and nodded.

"Please, and maybe take Teazer with her... the basket can get kind of heavy when all the bottles are filled." With a nod, Exotica trotted off with Teazer following not too far behind her. Plato walked over to Alonzo and draped his arm across his friend's shoulders.

"You know, her sister is more your age." Alonzo shot Plato a dirty look, shrugging him off.

"Yeah, but she has a huge crush on her."


	22. Part 22

**Part Twenty-Two**

Cassandra was sitting in the cafeteria, listening to her MP3 player and writing meticulously in a blue coiled notebook. Her blue eyes came up when a shadow flashed across the table. Alonzo smiled gently at her and motioned for her to take her headphones out.

"Hello Alonzo, how can I help you?" She asked, gently closing her notebook and setting her pencil across it. The black and white tom grinned at her, his icy blue eyes locking onto Cassandra's and making the Siamese a little uncomfortable. The fluttery feeling in her stomach was unfamiliar and it the unfamiliar made Cassandra a bit edgy.

"I was just a little hungry... you know, footbally practice." Alonzo said sheepishly, putting the tray he held onto the table. Cassandra's eyebrow went up and a smile pulled at the corner of her mouth. Folding her paws in front of her, Cassandra leant over to look at the contents of the tray. There were carrots, a ham and cheese sandwich and a bowl of the sticky, lumpy, unappetizing looking tapioca pudding. She reached over and plucked a carrot off the side of the plate and nibbled on it. Alonzo's eyes were still on her face, and Cass felt a blush start to rise in her throat.

"So how is that going? The football, I mean..." Alonzo's eyes twinkled, making Cassandra set her jaw when she recognized it as amusement. Pursing her lips, Cassandra raised an eyebrow again.

"Football's going. Me, Plato and Munkustrap are leaving this year, so we're training the sophmores and the juniors so they can go on and train the newbs for next year." The black and white scooped up some dip with a carrot stick and popped it into his mouth. Winking at Cassandra, he chewed happily. The Siamese queen felt herself smiling, and looked down at her pencil. She picked it up and started to tap it absently against the edge of her notebook. Alonzo watched her, and then reached over and covered her paw with his. Cassandra jolted, her eyes shooting up to meet Alonzo's.

"Cass, you're stressed..." He said simply, taking his paw away before Cassandra could pull her paw out from under it. She did, however, pull her paws onto her lap; rubbing the paw that Alonzo had held gently. The blush was in full throttle now, tinting the white fur on her face a pale pink. Alonzo smiled, picking up another carrot stick and dipping it gently into the sauce.

"Yes, I am a little stressed. Mostly because of the fact that I don't know if I am ready to graduate." A black eyebrow raised on one side of Alonzo's face as he watched Cassandra shift and turn her head towards the large windows in the cafeteria. Light shone onto her face, making her long eyelashes seem a little darker against her thin and coldly pretty face. Alonzo cleared his throat and looked down at his carrots when Cass peered at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"In the long run, I'm not sure I want to graduate. I like being the helpful one, you know? I mean, when I was growing up I was never really good enough at anything to help my friends, but now I'm good at football. I get to be outside eight times a week to train our team for next year, and that makes me feel good about myself." Cassandra turned her face towards Alonzo and a smile curled the corners of her lips up. When Alonzo looked up, he blinked in surprise. Cassandra rotated her body to face the black and white tom again, reaching over and taking his left paw between hers.

"It is a nice feelings, being appreciated. Unfortunately, some of us never seem to feel that way. Strange, isn't it? How you just want to feel a little bit of something from someone, and they never show it?" Cassandra locked her gaze with Alonzo's and toyed gently with his fingers. Sighing, Cass dropped his paw and rested her chin against her right palm. Alonzo's fingers flexed, and then he reached over and took Cassandra's cheek in his paw.

"There are those people who try to make everyone feel appreciated, but they're ignored most of the time." He pointed out, brushing the thin fur on the Siamese's face gently with his fingers. Cassandra felt tears coming to her eyes when she smiled. Alonzo stood up and walked around the table, sitting next to Cassandra. He put his arms around her shoulders and gathered her slim body against his chest. Cassandra's slender fingers wove into the thining fabric of Alonzo's old t-shirt and she clung tightly. Tears rolled down her cheeks in miserable blackening lines. Pushing away, Cassandra wiped the back of her paw across her cheek.

"I am sorry, I shouldn't be... oh my! I've stained your shirt..." Cassandra brushed her paws across Alonzo's shirt, trying to distract him from her tears. Alonzo watched her face when he brought his paw up to cup her chin. It trembled softly beneath his long fingers and the black tears rolled off his fingertips.

"Cass..." Blue eyes met blue eyes and Alonzo leant closer. His lips brushed across Cassandra's forehead, and she closed her eyes, letting out a shaky breath. Alonzo kissed Cassandra's brow and pulled back to look at her face. The stunning blue eyes opened and locked onto Alonzo's face. Cassandra's fingers shook against Alonzo's cheek when she brushed them against it.

"You're beautiful, don't ever forget it." The comment shot straight to Cassandra's heart, sending it into a fit of trembling, rapid beats. It fluttered when Alonzo's eyes trailed over her face and he leant closer. Tears dried on her cheeks and Cassandra looked up into Alonzo's eyes. Her fingers trailed across his cheekbones, and then went into his chin-length black and white hair. Pulling Alonzo in to close the gap between them, Cassandra's lips locked onto Alonzo's. Closing his eyes, Alonzo snaked his arms around Cassandra's waist and pulled her hard against him.

"Thank you..." She whispered against his lips.

Jemima was at her locker when Munkustrap walked up. He was toweling his hair from the shower he'd taken after practice and grinned at Jemima when she looked up. Beaming a smile up at her boyfriend, Jemima stuffed her binder into her locker.

"Hey, how was practice?" She asked, looking into Munkus's green eyes. He shrugged, grinning down at her.

"It was... okay, I guess. Did you know that both Tumblebrutus and Pouncival tried out for football this year?" Both eyebrows went up on the young tabby's face when she peered up at the silver tabby.

"You're kidding me? Both of them?" Munkustrap grinned, hook the edge of the towel in his belt and leaning over to look in the small mirror in Jemima's locker. He pushed so stray chunks of hair of silver and black hair into submission. Jemima watched him, sighing when he failed to put all the hair into place. Reaching up with a fork comb, Jemima helped her boyfriend.

"You never could get your hair to work without a comb." She admonished gently, smiling at him when she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek. Munkustrap looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, recognizing the kiss as a chaste one.

"Yeah, I know. Umm, Jem? Can we talk?" Knowing this was coming, Jemima closed her locker with a nod. Turning to Munkustrap, Jem locked her gaze with him.

"We can't do this anymore." She said, shrugging. Blinking with surprise, the tall silver tabby led the black and scarlet tabby over to a nearby bench.

"You feel that way too?" Munkus asked cautiously. Looking deeply into his eyes, Jemima nodded.

"Honestly Munkustrap, I knew you realized it awhile ago. We've lost all intimacy, all... I guess romantic would work here, all romantic feelings. I know this may seem odd, but when I kiss you, it's like I'm kissing family." Munkustrap nodded, looking down at his paw laced with Jemima's. Smiling at him, Jemima toyed with the edge of his ear with her free paw.

"And besides, we'll always be there for each other if we need it, right?" Grinning, Munkus raised his head and nodded.

"Yeah, so this is it?" He asked, feeling in a good way relieved that Jemima felt the same way. "We're breaking up now?"

Nodding her head, Jemima leant over and placed one last gentle kiss on Munkustrap's lips. It was heartfelt, and Munkustrap could feel that. With a smile, Munkustrap returned it. Pulling back, Jem winked at the older tabby.

"And like I say, we'll always be there for each other."


	23. Part 23

**Part Twenty-Three**

Demeter sat in Macavity's car silently, waiting for him to come back out of the drug store. When the tall ginger tabby walked out, Demeter felt her heart flutter in an innocent way.

_Oh he's so handsome when he's all cleaned up..._ She thought happily, looking over at him when he climbed into the car and set his bag down between them. Peering curiously at the bag, Demeter's eyebrow went up.

"What's in the bag, hun?" She asked, looking up at Macavity curiously. He shrugged, flashing a cocky smirk at her.

"Why don't you open it and see?" Demeter grinned, reaching for the bag after unlacing her fingers from Macavity's white paw. She pulled the small bag on her lap and opened the top of it. Her ears perked up instantly and her eyes widened. Reaching in, Demeter pulled the package of condoms out. Staring in disbelief, Deme looked at Macavity.

"You mean... you want to do that _**now**_?" Macavity reached over and brushed his fingers against Demeter's cheeks. She didn't pull back, as she was used to, but just sat there in complete shock. Plato and her had never had sex, he had never even asked, but now... what should she to do?

"Not right now; I want to take you some place special." Demeter's stomach knotted in a thousand different ways, and her mind raced a million other ones. Macavity's paw traced across her jawline, down her long throat, and then around the contour of her breast. Demeter's breath caught in her chest and she pulled away. This time, Macavity was surprised.

"I... I'm sorry. It's just... I don't know about this." She blurted out, embarassed at Macavity's raised eyebrow. "I'm... I'm a virgin."

A virgin? Ooh! What a delight. Macavity felt a sick shiver of pleasure run down his spine. He tried to stiffle it, but blood was already starting to race to his crotch.

"Heavyside! Demeter, why didn't you tell me before this? Were you afraid?" Demeter's eyes came up and she scanned Macavity's face. Hurt was evident, or at least she thought it was hurt, but there was something else there; something she didn't recognise. Pleasure? Why would that be pleasure? She hadn't done anything yet. Desire? Maybe so, but still she had no idea. The black and gold tabby queen let out a shaky breath and raised her chin again.

"I don't know. I just... didn't think you'd want me if I was a virgin." Macavity's paw traced her breast again, and then closed around it possessively. The sharp gasp that escaped Demeter's lips made more blood go to Macavity's loins and he groaned. Leaning over in his seat, Macavity's lips locked onto Demeter's.

"No, love, I will always want you. But you've just made me want you more..." Still not quite sure, Demeter pulled back from Macavity's kiss. Her paw traced the scar on his cheek gently, and then the ginger stripes across his cheeks. His green eyes were on hers and seemed to drink her in hungrily. Macavity's paw kneaded the soft fabric and trembling breast beneath it, and then moved down to trace over Demeter's ribs. Shivering with emotion, Demeter let her head fall back and bit her tongue against a moan.

"Heavyside! Please stop... take me to that place you were talking about." Macavity's paw continued to move lower on Demeter's body, tracing the outside of her muscular thing, and going along the edge of her jean skirt. Moving his finger gently under the edge of the denim, Macavity teased her.

"Are you sure, love?" He asked, his lips going to nip at her throat gently. Pleasure rippled through him, and echoed in Demeter's shiver, when Macavity felt her pulse racing against his lips.

"Yes." She said in a breathy whisper. Nodding his head, Macavity pulled away and turned the key. His engine roared, and he smirked to himself. His plan was slowly falling into place.

Mungojerrie and Munkustrap were chatting idly in the weight room when Tugger entered. The tall tom looked less than pleased, but the worried look in his eyes made Munkustrap bite back the rude comment he'd been about to say. Standing, Munkustrap helped Mungojerrie out from under the weight of the bench press. Tugger walked over, nodded to Jer, and then locked eyes with Munkus.

"You seen Deme lately?" He growled between his teeth. Munkustrap's eyebrows drew together and then he spotted Etcetera and Jemima peering into the weight room. Tears were streaming down Jemima's cheeks, and Etcetera had her arms wrapped around her friend. Munkustrap's fur sponged, and Mungojerrie looked up at Tugger curiously.

"Deme? Yew mean dat lovely laydie who is that Mackie goi's gurl?" He asked, getting a stiff nod from the lithe handsome tom. "Oi saw dem leavin' the school ealiah. Oi fink Mackie said somefing 'bout goin' to da drug stohe."

The angry snarl from Tugger's lips made Mungojerrie recoil, and Munkustrap had to steady him with an offhand grip. The silver tabby's eyes were locked with Tugger's and the old friends exchanged a long look.

"Are you thinking that he would?" The unspoken question was answered by a short nod. Jemima saw this and she shook her head, pressing her face into Cettie's shoulder. The white tabby's ears went back against her head and she watched her boyfriend through the window.

"We need to go... now!" Tugger said, looking at Jer. "We're gonna need you too, boyscout."

"Okai... whehe ahe we goin'?" He asked, following Tugger and Munkustrap as they exited the weight room. Etcetera led Jemima out of the gym and the two queens followed the toms until they reached the doors.

"I'm going to take Jemima back to her place... see you all later?" Cettie said, getting a kiss on the cheek and a sincere nod from Tugger. Turning, the queens walked away and Munkustrap snarled.

"Okay Jerrie, just to fill you in. I've already told you that Tugger, Mackie and me were friends awhile back; well Mac always had these sick fantasies about rape and murder. Of course, at that point he was associating with an older queen. You know Vicky, right? Victoria?" With a silent nod, Mungojerrie shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Well this bitch Mac was associating with is Vicky's older sister; you know you as Miss Griddlebone. She poisoned his mind and told him that if he wanted to stay in her good favor, he had to do some little... quests for her. All the little dirty chores she had, Griddlebitch passed on to our buddy Mackie. Soon he was heavily into the drug business, he'd killed more than fifteen people and he was fantasizing about raping innocent queens." Mungojerrie stared in disbelief.

"Oi..." Munkustrap held up a paw to stop Mungojerrie's sentence.

"I know, hard to believe. But here's the really unbelievable part; Mackie has had a crush on Demeter for as long as I can remember. When his mind started to twist, his first real rape fantasy involved her... and our old hang out place. Its this old, abandonded gas station a few kilometers outside of town." Tugger looked at Munkustrap, and then lowered his eyes to the ground.

"I've called everyone I know, and they've all said they saw Demeter leaving school with Macavity. From what I've been told, they were seen driving to the drugstore, and then leaving the drugstore to go towards the edge of town. I think that Macavity's taking her to the station." Mungojerrie shook his head wordlessly, falling back weakly against Tugger's red sportscar.

"'Eavysoide! We've got to saive 'er! She don't desehve somefing loike dat! Come on, fellas! Let's get our tails wohkin' and 'elp her." Mungojerrie literally jumped through the window and into the back seat. Munkustrap raised his eyebrow and looked at Tugger, who shrugged.

"Let's go save Demeter."


	24. Part 24

**Part Twenty-Four**

Demeter's eyes scanned the landscape flying by the window as Macavity drove like a mad man. Were she looking at him, she would notice that he was shaking, and sweat beaded across his forehead.

"Mac, where is this… special place?" She asked curiously, not taking her eyes off the breath taking beauty of the marshlands that surrounded them. The lithe ginger and black tom looked over at her and swallowed the lump that was in his throat.

"It's just a place. I found it a few years ago, and I go there to clear my mind sometimes." Finally taking her eyes away from the window, Demeter smiled lovingly at the ginger and black tabby tom sitting in the driver's seat. One of his large paws was gripping the steering wheel tightly and the other was on the gear shift. Deme put her wine-colored paw over Macavity's on the gear shift.

"Thank you. I mean that…" Macavity's green eyes shifted over, and he did his best to give his girlfriend a charming smile. Demeter's brow crinkled slightly, but the lines quickly disappeared when she leaned over to plant a chaste kiss on Mac's cheek.

The trio of toms that followed them drove by the drug store parking lot and Munkustrap frowned.

"Not here, they must've already left." Tugger snarled, stepping on the gas, but making sure to stay just below the speed limit. Mungojerrie was twitching in the back seat, his fingers rubbing together and his nose twitching.

"Ahe yew suhe 'e'd do somefing loike dat?" He asked for the millionth time. The tom driving snarled again, not taking his stormy brown eyes off the road. Munkustrap turned around so his emerald green eyes locked onto Mungojerrie's worried green ones.

"We're positive… I spotted Macavity leaving Griddlebone's place last night… and I also spotted the Ice Queen leaving the school just after Mac and Deme." Tugger's head spun towards Munkustrap and the same knowing look passed between them as before. 

"Wait a minute. The Ice Queen was going after them? Aww shit!!!" Tugger swore ripely, ignoring the speed limit and zipping his red sports car over the black pavement. Mungojerrie's eyes widened and he gripped the side of the car tightly.

"Whot in 'eavysoide's name?!?" Munkustrap was also holding onto the side of the car, but for a different reason. Fury darkened his face and the dark energy seemed to zapped through the air, creating a long silence in the vehicle. Tugger's fury wasn't quite so great, except when he thought about Macavity doing something, anything to Demeter. And with Griddlebone with him, who knew what old Mackie was doing.

"Come on, Jemima. They're gonna be fine…with three of them there, what could go wrong?" Jemima tore her gaze away from the window to throw Etcetera a dark look. Raising her paws, Cettie took a step back.

"Just sayin'…" She muttered, turning to the kitchen. Jemima let out a sigh and then turned back to the window. Pressing her forehead against it, Jem closed her eyes. Where the hell was Demeter? Why the hell had Tugger been so uptight earlier? With her thoughts so clouded with worry, the small black and scarlet tabby could hardly decipher the thoughts of the tall, lithe Maine Coon tom. Taking another deep breath, Jemima turned away from the window and followed Etcetera into the kitchen.

Nabira was at the stove, her headphones in and swaying gently with the music. Her long, lean form moved gently to some beat only she could hear as she stirred the soup on the stove. Cettie walked over to her mother and kissed her lightly on the cheek. Nab turned her cheek and winked at Etcetera, and then smiled gently at Jemima. Pulling the headphones out, Nabira turned and handed Etcetera the spoon she'd been using.

"You look like you could use a hug, Jem. Come here…" Jemima walked over and buried her nose into Nabira's downy white shoulder fur. The white tank top the older queen was wearing was a smooth contrast to her fur and Jem sniffled.

"I'm just so worried… it's not like Deme to not tell me where she'll be…" Nabira stroked Jemima's hair gently and nuzzled her nose into the top of her head.

"She'll be fine. With what I've had the pleasure of seeing of Tugger, when Cettie isn't busy with him, he's a fine tom and with Munkustrap with him, there's no stopping them. Who did you say the third tom with them was?" Etcetera turned her face and grinned at Jemima around her mother.

"His name is Mungojerrie; he's a transfer student from London. He's got the coolest accent!" The tall white queen smiled at Jemima and stroked her hair again before pulling back. She leant over to make herself eye level with the small black and scarlet tabby and ran her knuckles against Jem's cheeks.

"They'll be fine… I promise." Jemima nodded her head, rubbing the back of her paw over her cheeks to rid them of the stray tears.

"I know…"


	25. Part 25

**Part Twenty-Five**

Macavity sat back in the driver's seat and hooked his arm around Demeter's strong shoulders. Her head was resting gently against his shoulder, and her paw was woven with the paw around her shoulders.

"We're here." Demeter looked at the old, abandoned gas station.

"You come here to clear your mind?" She asked, blinking in surprise. Macavity laughed nervously, trying to keep himself from shaking. This was it. He took his arm off of Demeter's shoulders and opened the door, taking several deep breaths as he made his way around the car to open Demeter's door for her. He helped the black and gold queen out, and watched the awe in her face as she looked around the lovely sight.

"It's beautiful." The breathless words made Macavity almost wince, but he kept himself in check. A flash of glass in the distance made him raise his eyes from his girlfriend. He saw a white car drive behind a set of trees and stop, and a lump formed in the pit of his stomach. Looking away from the trees, Macavity took Demeter's paws and led her towards the old building.

"Come on. The inside is alot nicer than the outside. I've been decorating it for awhile now..." He said, pushing open the newly painted door. Demeter's green eyes scanned the inside of the building and she smiled. There were plants here and there, the windows had been repaired and there was a fresh coat of paint on the walls.

"It's alot nicer than it looks outside." Macavity steered her towards the small bed and sat her down.

"I'm going to go get the bags from the car. I'll be back." He kissed Demeter on the forehead and walked out. Since Macavity had painted the windows on the front of the old building, there was no way Demeter could see what was happening outside. Had she been paying attention, she would have heard Macavity talking to someone.

"So you actually got here?" Griddlebone had her hip resting gently against the side of Macavity's car. He looked down at her and nodded his head. The snug jeans that the white queen wore strained against her curves when she moved to the back of the white car she'd pulled up in.

"Then what are we waiting for? Come on, get the bags and go talk her into letting you tie her up. Ooh! This is so much fun!" The glee in Griddlebone's voice made the lump in Macavity's stomach tighten. She flipped open the truck of her car and pulled out a black duffle bag and a plastic bag. She handed them to the motionless Macavity, and then took the bag out of the ginger tom's car.

"Here. Oh come on! Don't look at me like that. You know what you're doing." Gridd put her paws on her hips and cocked her stance to one side. "I'm not going to hold your paw the whole time."

Demeter looked at the door when Macavity entered, and her eyes locked onto the bags.

"What's in the duffle bag?" She asked, not quite remembering him putting it into the car.

"Stuff." He said, almost too stiffly. Macavity grinned when Demeter raised her eyebrow and set the bags down. He picked up the duffle bag and set it on the bed next to his girlfriend.

"I just wanted to try something with you. If you want to, and if you trust me." The words made Demeter freeze. Did she trust him?

"Well... can I look?" She said quietly, trying to stop her body from shaking. Something about the whole situation just didn't sit right with her. The tall ginger tom nodded his head and sat down on the other side of the duffle bag. His eyes watched Demeter's face intently as she opened up the bag. They widened with shock, and when they turned up to him, fear sparkled in them.

"Ropes? And... gags?" Demeter's voice trembled, almost making Macavity want to tell her it wasn't right for them to be here. But he'd do it.

"Yes. But I need to know that you trust me." He said, ignoring the twinge of guilt at the back of his mind. She trusted him, or at least, she wanted to. Demeter's head slowly nodded up and down in consent. Macavity felt something like relief smooth over the guilt and he smiled.

"Okay. Tell me if it hurts you though..." He spoke quietly, standing up and taking Demeter's paw. He led her to the middle of the room, where on the ceiling was a hook. He pulled a piece of the nylon rope out of the bag and gently wound it around the hook, and took Demeter's wrists. Her body froze, but she let Macavity pull her paws above her head. He tied them tightly, but not tight enough to cut off circulation or hurt her. Demeter's feet were tied next, followed by a gag that Macavity put over her tongue and between her teeth.

"Now, now Macavity, you're being far too gently." Macavity's eyes flashed with anger, but he turned towards the door and watched Griddlebone walk in.


	26. Part 26

**Part Twenty-Six**

Tugger was driving like a mad man, taking the corners as close as he could to keep his speed. Mungojerrie had grown semi used to the mad driving and was trying not to get sick when he looked out the window.

"'Oly shit! Yer drivin' kinda fast, Tuggah. Oi 'ope yew don't get pulled ovah oh sumfing..." Munkustrap looked back at the tabby tom with a grin.

"If he does, we'll explain that someone is about to get raped." The silver tom said, his green eyes flashing with anger.

A cruel smile was spread across Griddlebone's red-slicked pouty lips. The blue corset she was wearing pushed up her ample bust, and as she walked her jeans strained against her curved thighs. Leaning against Macavity's shoulder, Gridd wrapped her arms around him.

"Oh what fun it is to play with a trusting queen's young mind." She sang mockingly to the tune of 'Dashing Through the Snow'. Demeter's green eyes sparked with anger, and turned up to Macavity's face. The words she spit were stiffled against the gag, and Griddlebone chuckled. Putting a white paw up to her ear, she blinked innocently.

"I'm sorry dear, we can't hear you. Try to speak up?" The tied queen strained against the binding and snarled at the pair in front of her. Macavity wore a facade of indifference, but the pain in his eyes and the position of his ears said otherwise. Tears formed at the corner of Demeter's eyes as she tried to spit useless curses around the gag. Griddlebone giggled with glee and rested her head against Macavity's chest.

"This is great fun, wouldn't you say love?" Turning her chin up, Griddlebone welcomed the kiss Macavity placed on her mouth. Demeter snarled again, but this time, she swung her body and slammed her feet into Griddlebone's side. A gasp of surprise and pain escaped the queen's lips as Griddlebone was propelled out of Macavity's arms and into the wall. Her head smacked roughly against the concrete and the lovely white queen fell to the ground in an unconcious heap. Macavity's eyes widened, and his tail slashed angrily. Turning to Demeter, Macavity back handed her.

"How dare you!" He snarled angrily, grabbing Demeter's bruising chin and forcing her to look up at him. Fear paled her when Macavity's evident fury hit her full force. He tore her shirt, sending buttons flying every direction. The ginger tom's paw was on the hem of her skirt when the door opened and shadows marred the light.

"Hey Mac. Better take a good step back." Tugger said, stepping into the room. Munkustrap's form blocked the doorway and his eyes went to Demeter. Tugger bent down to check Griddlebone and he tsked.

"Geez Mac. Beat up Gridd and rape your girlfriend. That's a lovely record." Macavity snarled, launching himself at Tugger's prone form. Munkustrap didn't move quickly enough and Macavity's paw connected with Tugger's cheek.

"Don't touch her!" Macavity snarled, kicking Tugger in the chest and scooping Griddlebone into his arms. He backed up until his legs hit the bed, his green eyes flashing dangerously. Munkustrap helped Tugger up, and the Maine Coon dabbed his paw against his lip. Seeing blood, he chuckled.

"Nice punch, Mac." He commented dryly. The ginger tom snarled, putting Griddlebone down on the bed while keeping his eyes on his old friends.

"Now what does it come down to, old friends? The three of us having a showdown?" He asked sarcastically, walking back to where Demeter was standing. With his eyes on the two in front of him, Macavity failed to notice Mungojerrie climbing in the window at the back of the old building. Macavity's arms went around Demeter's bound form, and she shivered with disgust. His lips coursed down her neck, and he chuckled when Munkustrap held Tugger back.

"Aren't you going to save Demeter?" Mac asked, nipping at Demeter's chin. She struggled gently, her eyes locked imploringly on those of Tugger. He went to take a step forward, but Munkustrap's arm was firmly in his way.

"Oy Mac!" Macavity jolted, turning towards the voice behind him. Mungojerrie's paw connected with the side of his face, hitting the ginger tom hard enough to knock him to the ground, unconcious. Shaking his paw, Jerrie looked up at Munkustrap.

"Dat 'urt, it did!" He said with a lopsided grin. The silver tom grinned, chuckling as he shook his head. Tugger moved around Munkustrap's arm and started to untie Demeter. When she was untied, the tabby queen fell into Mungojerrie's arms weakly, clinging gently to him with fear. Her eyes were locked on Macavity's still figure and she swallowed a lump in her throat.

"Is he... dead?" She asked cautiously. Mungojerrie hugged her gently and took her chin gently. Turning her eyes to him, he shook his head.

"Jus' knocked out fer a bit, luv." He said, smiling gently. Shakily, Demeter stood up and wrapped her arms around herself. Munkustrap took off his jacket and offered it to her, but she shook her head.

"I'll be fine..." She said, but Tugger caught her as she fainted.

"Let's go back. Jem'll be worried." Tugger said, the fury evident in his voice. Looking directly at Mungojerrie, Tugger's lips twitched.

"You did good. Now call the cops and get these two picked up." He said, carrying Demeter out to his car.


	27. Part 27

**Part Twenty-Seven**

Bombalurina watched Pouncival clean up the counters of the ice cream shop, a small smile on her face. He was so cute, especially when he was concentrating. His tawny brown eyes came up and locked with Bomba's blue ones, and a shy smile spread over Pounce's lips.

Heavyside, why did she always come to watch him? One of these days, Pouncival was going to make a complete idiot of himself in front of her. Not that Bomba would mind, she'd probably seen him do stupid things before. Her presence made his heart race and made him a little edgy. Pouncival wiped the counter down one last time, looking over at the door to make sure he'd turned the sign over to 'closed'. Grinning, Pouncival walked over to where his girlfriend sat.

"Hey." He said, sitting down across from her and slinging the cloth over his shoulder. Bombalurina grinned at him and leant against her right paw.

"Hey, how's work going?" She asked, looking around. "And where's Jenny?"

Pouncival rolled his eyes with a sigh, and chuckled when Bomba turned her blue eyes on him. Shrugging, Pouncival folded his arms on the table.

"She's out to dinner with Skimble, Jelly and Asparagus. She called me earlier and asked me to close up. I'm getting twelve dollars an hour to close, so I'm fine with it." Bombalurina laughed, grinning at the thought of the four adults together.

"Sometimes it's so weird to think that our teachers have a social life." The scarlet queen commented absently, reaching over to toy with Pouncival's fingers. He looked at their joined fingers, and moved his paw to cover hers.

"Sometimes, yeah. Especially for me with all the things I've been hearing. You know, the rumors at school. Not that I pay much attention, I mean, they're just rumors. But seriously! Some of the ones you hear are just insane." Bombalurina's eyebrow went up and her head tilted slightly to one side.

"Did you hear to one about Skimble and Jenny?" The white and brown mixed tom asked, shaking his hair out of his eyes. When his scarlet girlfriend shook her head, Pounce sighed.

"Well, the rumor is that Rumpleteazer and Exotica found Skimble and Jenny full into it in the janitor's closet." Bomba's mouth fell open, and she covered it with her free paw.

"Oh my." Was all she could manage before she started to giggle. Pouncival nodded his head with a roll of her eyes.

"I think I'd probably freak out. Another rumor I heard was that Teazer and Xoti are thinking about dating." Bombalurina's expression changed to interest.

"Really? And what would be wrong with that?" Pouncival's face contorted, and then went blank when he shrugged.

"I'm a firm believer in queen/tom relationships." He said flatly. Bomba scowled at him, and drew her paw away from his.

"So basically you're saying that you don't think that lesbians and gays should be able to love?" She asked darkly. The comment made Pouncival draw back, and then he met Bombalurina's gaze.

"Not saying that they should've love, I'm just saying that they should wait until they're in private to love. It's odd to see..." Bomba stood up, planted her paws on the table and glowered at Pouncival.

"Then maybe you'd like me to go, because I have tried lesbianism, thank you very much. Lesbians and gaws have as much right to love as you and me." Pouncival stood up and made a grab for Bomba's arm. She skittered out of his reach and shook her head.

"Open your eyes, Pounce! Do you really think that love is a right?" Tears started to well up in the blue eyes locked onto Pouncival's face.

"Bomba, don't cry... please..." Pouncival implored, moving to her and hugging her gently. Bombalurina pressed her face into Pouncival's throat, and whimpered softly.

"Love isn't a right, Pounce. It's something that happens naturally. If Teazer and Xoti want to date, let them be." She said softly. Pounce nodded wordlessly and held Bomba close to him.


	28. Part 28

**Part Twenty-Eight**

Jellylorum, Asparagus Junior, Skimbleshanks and Jennyanydots sat around a single round table in the back corner of a quality Italian restaurant. Jellylorum was finishing off a glass of wine, and Asparagus was reaching for the bottle again. Skimble and Jenny were discussing something quietly, and then Jenny nodded. Skimbleshanks turned to his co workers and smiled.

"You two are probably wondering why I asked you to come out on such short notice. Given current circumstances..." Jelly's eyes didn't meet Jenny's, but stayed on the plate of bread in the middle of the table. Asparagus reached under the table and touched Jellylorum's paw gently. He smiled up at Skimbleshanks and motioned for his good friend to continue.

"Well, after the discovery of mine and Jennyanydots's relationship, we've been talking." Jelly took her wine glass and started to take a drink.

"We're engaged." Jenny finished, watching her friend nearly choke at the news. Jellylorum's blue eyes locked with Jenny's green ones, and a slow smile spread across her lips. Taking her napkin, the butter-colored tabby queen dabbed the wine off the corner of her mouth.

"Congratulations, you two." Jelly said with a sly smile. Relief washed over Jenny, and her paw tightened around Skimbeshanks's. Asparagus started to laugh, and stood to raise his glass.

"Definitely congratulations to you. Skimble, took you long enough." Gus grinned and chuckled as he took a long sip of his wine. The orange tabby tom mirrored the grin and raised his glass. He pulled his fiancée close and planted a soft kiss on her lips. Jenny looked into his eyes and smiled gently.

"I love you." He whispered, kissing her again.

"I love you too." Jellylorum looked up as the waiter came over. He was carrying Jelly and Jenny's meals, and when he set them down, he also had a little bag. Handing it to Skimbleshanks, the waiter smiled.

"You said to bring it now, did you not?" He asked, getting a nod from the orange tabby. Jennyanydots took a bite of her mediteranean lasagna and watched Skimbleshanks open the bag. A slow smile spread across his lips as he reached in and pulled out a small cardboard box. Jelly was taking a bite of her liguini, and looked up at Asparagus when he knudged her gently. Bustopher Jones, Alonzo's father and owner of this particular restaurant, came out of the kitchen and spotted the quartet. Grinning from ear to ear, the burly black tuxedo started over to them.

"Hey! Congrats you two!" B.J said with a bellowing laugh. Several others in the restaurant looked over with curiosity as Bustopher pulled a free chair over.

Bustopher Jones was indeed very outgoing. His build was large, but was mostly alot of muscle that he'd developed over the years. His wide, cheerful face was flushed from the heat of the kitchen he worked in, and his mustache was curled slightly at the ends from the humidity. His light green eyes sparkled as he watched Skimbleshanks open the box.

"It's the one you ordered. Helen had it brought in double time for you." Skimbleshanks looked over at the burly owner with a grin.

"And I thank you for this. I really owe you." Bustopher Jones let out another bellowing laugh and clapped the orange tabby on the shoulder.

"No worries! When Helen heard, she was overjoyed." Jennyanydots took another bite of her lasagna as she peered curiously at the black velvet box. Bustopher caught her looks and grinned. Knudging Skimble, Bustopher made a motion with his head.

"Oh yes! Jenny, since I didn't have a ring when I first proposed to you..." Skimbleshanks pushed his chair out and turned Jenny towards him. She grabbed her napkin and wiped a bit of tomatoe sauce off the corner of her lips. The restaurant hushed as Skimbleshanks got down on one knee and took Jennyanydots's paw.

"Will you marry me? With a ring this time?" He asked, opening the small box to reveal a stunning diamond and sapphire ring. Jenny's free paw went over her mouth and a strangled sound escaped her lips. Tears started to form in the corners of her eyes and she nodded.

"Yes. Oh Skimble! It's beautiful. This is beautiful." She sniffed, letting Skimbleshanks put the ring on her paw before she pounced on him with a fierce hug.

"And there's something else..." She whispered, pulling back to look into his eyes. "I'm pregnant."


	29. Part 29

**Part Twenty-Nine**

The dance couldn't have come fast enough for some cats. Etcetera sat in her livingroom, worrying the string of her corset-designed tank top and fiddling with her skirt. Jemima was at home helping Demeter get ready for Mungojerrie to arrive to drive them. Electra was miserably getting ready for Tumblebrutus to come and pick her up. Bombalurina was at Pouncival's house, giggling at his expense with his mother.

Munkustrap sat in a pristine livingroom with his leather jacket, a clean white t-shirt and a pair of dress pants. Tantomile was in her room getting ready, and Coricopat was talking with their father about getting the car for the evening. The twin's mother was in the kitchen making dinner and the smells wafted out to the silver tabby tom.

"Whatever it is you're cooking smells heavenly." Munkus said loudly, breaking the silence in the room. He was nervous, considering this would be the first time he and Tantomile were really close. Coricopat had asked the shy Siamese Pharasophatees to the dance, and would be picking her up soon if he got the car.

"Well thank you darling, I am hoping I will have it done before you three leave so you will all at least have a chance to eat a little something." Tantomile's mother, Allegra, was a beautiful queen. She was slender, with lithe muscles running through her elegantly long arms and legs. Her face had an exotic angle to it, with her pointed chin and sharp, high cheekbones. Her eyes were angled, but a more subdued color of gold than the fiery sulphur of her twins. Her thick, wavy shoulder-length hair was was black with a few brown and rusty-colored streaks in it.

"I'm hoping Tantomile will get something to eat; if not here, then I'll pick something up. I don't like the idea of dancing all night with an empty stomach." A gentle smile spread over Allegra's face and she chuckled.

"You treat her so well; I'm glad." She turned back into the kitchen moments before Tantomile emerged from her bedroom.

The calico queen glided down the hall in black soft soled ballet flats. The black skirt she wore was long, with a filmy layer over top the opaque black layer. It flowed around her legs as she walked and gave the already mysterious queen a very ethereal look. A long slit up the side of the skirt revealed Tantomile's slender, long leg at every step. Her tunic styled shirt was a pale gold, with an empire waist and long, open and flowing sleeves. Metallic thread ran through the seams and caught the light. Tant's make up was smokey and accented her exotic shaped, golden sulphur eyes. Her hair was loose, but had some sort of product in it that made it look more chunky than it normally was. A single dangling rosy quartz pendant was the only jewellery she wore, and Tantomile looked shyly at Munkustrap before walking down the stairs from her room.

Munkustrap had been standing since Tantomile emerged, since he was frozen to the spot. His emerald green eyes were locked onto her face, taking in her smile and the mysterious hooded look in her eyes.

"You had better close your mouth, Munkustrap, before the flies start to congregate." Her husky voice jolted the silver tom out of his daze and he crossed the room. Taking Tantomile's arm, Munkustrap smiled gently down at her.

"You look so beautiful, Tant." The queen lowered her eyes with a soft blush and touched Munkustrap's paw gently.

"And you look handsome Munkustrap; you always do and always have." Munkus reached out and tilted her chin up a little. Starring deeply into his eyes, Tantomile smiled shyly. Leaning in, Munkustrap gently pressed his lips against hers.

Rum Tum Tugger, however, was ready and had been ready for the dance for the past hour and a half. At the moment, he was sitting at the entrance of the airport, unbuttoning the top two buttons of his dress shirt. His brown eyes flicked up when there was a movement at his window. Tugger drove away from the airport five minutes later, but he wasn't alone. In the passenger seat was a very lovely silver queen with black markings on her chest, boots and gloves.

The doors of the dance opened at exactly eight o'clock, and Etcetera was standing just inside the doors of the gymnasium with Jemima and Electra. Electra was still miserable at the fact that Pouncival had gotten over her, but Jemima was trying to keep her from thinking about it. Cettie was playing with the strings on her corset top again, her teal eyes glued to the door.

"Tugger did say that he'd meet us here, right?" Leccy rolled her eyes and gave Jemima and knowing look.

"Yeah, and he said he was gonna have a surprise. I wonder what that'll be..." Jemima glared at Electra and looked around. Tumblebrutus was walking over, a large blooming red rose in his paws.

The tan and white mixed tom was dressed in clean and dressy black pants with a white tank top shirt that formed to his body quite nicely. He wasn't an exceptionally muscular tom, but the shirt made him look very dashing anyways. He stopped just beside Electra and touched her elbow gently. Her brown eyes turned to him with little warmth, until they scanned down him to the rose. With a squeak, Leccy tried to keep Brutus from going down on his knees.

"Tumble! If you don't get off the floor, I swear to whatever God I will break you..." She hissed urgently, looking around at the people watching with interest. Tumblebrutus remained where he was, but he took Electra's paw. Glancing down at him with clear embarrassement, Leccy sighed.

"Electra, do you really want this? Us, I mean..." He asked, and Electra's mouth dropped open. Tumble was completely serious and he was hurt by the fact that Electra might not be with him because she wanted to be. The queen in question was opening and closing her mouth, strangled and confused sounds coming out in the place of words.

"Tumble..." She tried, but the look in his eyes stopped her. Closing her eyes tightly, Electra took a deep breath.

"You want the truth?" She asked in a low, slightly sad voice. Tumblebrutus's eyes flashed, but he nodded. Looking down at him again, Leccy's mouth curled a little at the edges into a smile.

"In the beginning I was just using you to make Pouncival jealous, and I'm sorry for that part. But now I do want to be with you. You're sweet, gentle and amazingly cute with everything you do. But the reason I'm staying with you now is because you have something that most toms lack: maturity. You know where the line is and you have the decency not to cross it." Standing up, Tumblebrutus pulled Electra against him, crushing the rose between them as he crushed his own mouth against her. Electra was surprised at first, and then she wound her arms around his neck.

"Whoa! Am I interrupting something?" Misto walked up with Alonzo and his date, Cassandra. The Siamese queen was dressed in an elegantly flowing silk dress with tank top cut sleeves. Her hair was styled a little and her make up was sparse. Jemima went to Mistoffelees and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. She nuzzled his cheek gently and giggled.

"Just a little scene with Romeo and Juliet here." Alonzo laughed and kissed Cass gently on the cheek. Etcetera was still watching the door, and let out a surprised squeak that made everyone look.

All eyes around Cettie went to Tugger as he entered the gymnasium. On his arm was the lovely queen from the airport; her curvacious body clad in a pair of sleek dress pants and a lovely tight dress tank top. Her long, straight silver and black hair was pulled back from her face and her dark green eyes regarded everything with interest. She leant in and whispered something in Tugger's ear. He laughed, and then spotted Etcetera staring at him.

"Cettie!" He called out, letting go of the queen, who followed him as he moved quickly through the crowd towards his girlfriend. Etcetera folded her arms over her chest and looked up at Tugger with an unimpressed look on her face. Her eyes rolled blatantly towards the queen behind Tugger, and then back up to her boyfriend.

"Hi." Cettie said flatly. The tall Maine Coon tom blinked in surprise, and looked over his shoulder.

"Uhh... what's with the cold shoulder, Cettie?" He asked, cocking his stance to one side. Cettie fuzzed and glared openly now.

"Hmm... let me think. You tell me you can't pick me up the for the dance and tell me to meet you there. You also tell me there's a surprise, and then you show up with another queen. I wonder, Tugger, I wonder..." Tugger flinched at the sarcasm, but the queen behind chuckled. Walking up beside Tugger, the mystery queen extended a black paw to Etcetera.

"I'm sorry for the confusion, I wouldn't date this moron for the world. I'm Mistyshade, or Misty for short. I'm Tugger's big sister."


	30. Part 30

**Part Thirty**

"Okay, how come you never told me you had a sister?" Cettie demanded in the hallway. Mistyshade had gone to find King, the Social Studies teacher, to chat with him. Apparently, there had been some sort of connection between them on an online dating site, and the pair found out they had a mutual acquaintance; Tugger. Mistyshade flew down here to meet her brother for the dance and to meet King for the first time. Not that Etcetera could blame her, King was the most attractive, and also was the youngest, teacher at the school.

"Well, I wanted it to be a surprise." The tall Maine Coon kissed Cettie's ear gently and grinned. Rolling her eyes with a sigh, Cettie hugged Tugger around the waist. Mister Deuteronomy, the Principle and physical education teacher, walked down the hall. He seemed quite awkward with a tie on; something he rarely wore because of his phys ed class.

"Hey Mister D., how's things shakin' with the Missus?" Deuteronomy looked at Tugger and smiled warmly.

"Perfectly, thank you Tugger. How is young Etcetera?" He directed his question at the young tabby queen beside Tugger. She smiled brightly and looked up at Tugger lovingly.

"We have our moments, but we're good. I'm also very well, thanks." Skimbleshanks was watching a close entrance to the school, making sure Macavity didn't try to sneak in with some of his druggie friends. Macavity had gone back to the drugs after the rape incident and so lost alot of his friends, lost his job and lost his education for the most part.

Demeter walked up beside Tugger and Etcetera, hand in hand with Mungojerrie. Tugger and Jerrie grinned at each other and gave each other the traditional man-hug. Deme and Cettie exchanged looks, and then started to giggle. Etcetera looked at Demeter with a friendly grin, and then looked her over.

"Oh wow Deme! That's such a lovely dress! Where did you get it?" Demeter flushed a little and looked down at her dress.

"It was my mother's..." She said quietly. Jerrie looped his paw into hers again and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Deme's tear-filled green eyes came up as she smoothed a wrinkle out of the dress. Etcetera put a paw over her mouth and looked over the dress.

"It's beautiful..." Her voice was tight, and Cettie wiped a tear off her cheek with the back of her paw. Tugger pulled her against him and hugged her gently, rocking back and forth. Demeter mouthed 'thank you' at the young tabby, who gave her a watery smile. It was then a shrill and familiar voice pierced through the hall.

"What do you mean I'm not allowed on school property? I'm a damn teacher for Heavyside's sake!" Mister Deuteronomy moved quickly through the halls to where Asparagus Junior had been watching the entrance. Griddlebone, clad in a skin-tight, blood red dress and black stiletto heels, stormed around the corner to meet him.

"You told them not to allow me in here?" She screeched, getting the attention of everyone in the halls. Deuteronomy whispered something to her, and Demeter hunkered against Mungojerrie. Griddlebone's malicious expression didn't fade, but her icy blue eyes went to where Demeter was. A cruel smile crossed her lips as she changed her stance.

"Oh, I understand completely. I just need to speak with someon..." Deuteronomy had his arm around Griddlebone's waist as she set off towards Demeter. The black and gold tabby was fuzzed, her eyes were wide and she was hissing violently.

"Don't let her near me, please, don't let her near me." She hissed almost incoherently. Griddlebone let out a terrifying laugh, trying to shake Deuteronomy's arm off of her. Skimbleshanks emerged from his post and nodded at Deuteronomy. Police came in behind him and Griddlebone screamed.

"No! You have the wrong person! You know Macavity did things to her, I did nothing!" Deuteronomy handed her to the police, kicking and screaming. Leaning so he could look the cold Persian queen in the eyes.

"That's not what he said." Screaming one last, loud curse in her ex-employer's face, Griddlebone followed the police. Mungojerrie was trying to keep Demeter from shaking, and put his muscled arms around her.

"It's okai, love. She can't 'urt yew naiwe. She can't do noffing tew yew." Kissing Deme's ears, Jerrie crooned softly, trying to gently maneuver her back towards the dance. Demeter's green eyes were fixed on the spot where Griddlebone had been standing, and nonsensical things were spilling out of her mouth. The black and gold tabby's eyes started to unfocus and she collapsed.

"Deme!" Her escort caught her deftly and fanned her face. Etcetera ran for a bottle of water as Rum Tum Tugger cursed.

"Damn that fucking witch!" He snarled, kneeling down beside Demeter and putting a paw on her cheek and then onto her forehead.

"She's too warm; she's overheating." Tugger muttered, drawing the shawl Demeter was still clutching from around her shaking shoulders. Suddenly, Demeter's eyes snapped open and she took a deep, shaking breath in.

"What? What... who?" Demeter blinked, sitting up without Jerrie or Tugger's help. She looked around and then up at Cettie when she returned with the water. Demeter took it and opened it, drinking lustily. Sweat was beading across her face and across what was visible on her collarbones and neck. Mungojerrie exchanged looks with Tugger before touching Demeter lightly on the arm.

"Yew alroight, love?" He asked gently, leaning to look into her face. Thoroughly confused, Deme looked back at Jerrie.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why? What happened?" Mungojerrie sat back on his heels, peering curiously at his date.

"Well, yew sohta 'ad dis weird 'spression on yer face; real concentrated loike. Yew were openin' and closin' yer mouth den yew collapsed." Demeter looked up at him, raised an eyebrow, took another long drink of the water and stared off into space.

"Oh." Was all she said, accepting the tiger tabby's help to stand up again. Tugger watched her, opening his arm so Cettie could press against his side.

"Now that was just plain weird." She spoke quietly, watching Deme and Jerrie walk away. Tugger nodded his head with a very concentrated look on his face.


	31. Part 31

**Part Thirty-One**

"So what happens now?" Exotica had her arms around Rumpleteazer's waist and touched her forehead gently to her date's. The orange tabby grinned from ear to ear and kissed Xoti on the nose gently. 

"Oi dunnai. We continue dancin' Oi gathah. Yew looke roight smart in dat dress, 'ave Oi said dat already?" The Burmese giggled and nodded her head. Teazer grinned again and sighed. The song _Don't Want to Miss a Thing _by Aerosmith started to play and Rumpleteazer pulled Exotica a little closer. Blushing, Xoti's eyes dropped from Teazer's face. Concerned, the tabby nudged up Exotica's chin to look into her eyes.

"Whot's wrong? Yew don't seem ta want tew dance too much..." Shaking her head, Exotica looked away. Biting her lower lip, Teazer started to pull back. Xoti tightened her grip around her date's neck and turned her face back to Teazer.

"It's not that I don't want to dance... it's just... I'm having these weird feelings." Teazer's head tilted to one side, and Exotica nodded.

"I really like you, Rumpleteazer, and the reason I wanted to come to the dance with you wasn't just as friends... as I had said." She continued, hesitating when Teazer's eyes widened to saucers. "I really like you more than that, but if you don't like me that way, I understand. I guess it just seems kinda of weird for a queen to like another que..."

Rumpleteazer's lips touched Exotica's gently in a tender kiss and it stopped all trains of thought that were rushing through the Burmese's head. Locking gazes, the two didn't seem to notice that all the couples around them, some including Jemima and Mistoffelees, Electra and Tumblebrutus and Pouncival and Bombalurina, were staring. A smile quirked Teazer's lips and brightened her green eyes with mischief.

"Oi nevah really 'ad a reason ta ask yew ta come wit' me otah den Oi wanted ta ask yew 'bout somefing similah ta dat. Oi loiked yew too, Xot, and Oi'm glad ta 'ear dat yew feel da saime way." Exotica let out a long breath and a smile brightened her dark, sharp features. Her dark brown eyes sparkled and she touched her lips to Teazer's again.

"I'm so glad..."

"You see, I find that type of thing to be... interesting." Pouncival said quietly. Bombalurina gave him a dirty look and sniffed. She started to pull back, but Pounce kept his paws locked around his girlfriend's waist.

"Hey! I never said it was gross, remember? We've been over this... I just don't see what a queen can give another queen that a tom can't..." Bomba rolled her blue eyes and smirked down at her date.

"Understanding... a clear opinion without waffling around details... straight answers... believe me, darling, the list goes on. You want more?" Shaking his head, Pounce laughed.

"No, no thanks, I think I'll live."

"Misto, are you sure you're alright? You've hardly said a word since we left Alonzo and Cass..." Jemima's blue eyes scanned over the young tuxedo tom's face, but nothing was coming off of him. He had an odd ability to shield his emotions, much like Cassandra and Exotica, and that ability annoyed Jemima. She could never tell what he was thinking...

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking... 'bout you, mostly." Misto seemed embarassed by the confession, because the white fur on his face tinted slightly pink, even in the dark lighting of the gymnasium. His blue eyes locked with Jem's and a quirky grin spread across his face.

"What's got you annoyed?" Huffing, Jemima's nose rose and she looked over Misto's shoulder to avoid eye contact. He could read her like an open book, but wouldn't give an inch to let her know what he was thinking; the nerve of the tom. Squeezing Jemima gently, Mistoffelees brought his date's eyes back to his. He was still grinning like a fool, but winked at her wryly.

"Aww, come on, Jem. There's no need to be upset tonight. Besides, you look gorgeous." Jemima blushed, her eyes lowering modestly down to look at her dress.

It was a simple black dress that was almost like a second skin to her. It was designed to show off any and all curves that a queen had, and it did just that. The sleeves were off the shoulder and displayed the slender shoulders and long throat that Jemima had. Around her throat was a small baby pink ribbon with a little heart charm Deme had given her awhile ago. It read 'And I Will Always Love You'. Jemima's outfit was pulled together by a pair of simple black ballet flats with pink bows on them.

"Thanks, you look very handsome yourself." Misto grinned and nuzzled his nose into Jemima's cheek.

"Thanks to you too. Jem, I have a question for you... but we need to go somewhere else." Looking up at the small tom quizzically, Jemima followed Mistoffelees without hesitation as he exited the gym. He walked all the way down to the end of the hallway where the students were allowed to hang out and socialize without the blare of the music. Misto looked around and reached into his pocket.

"I kinda picked something up for you as Alonzo and I were heading over the Cassie's place... it's not much, but it made me think about you..." Reaching out in front of him, Misto held a small black box in his paw. Jemima took it carefully, her eyes filling with tears of wonder.

"Oh Misto, you really shouldn't have..." She gasped in surprise when she opened the box. Jem's free paw came up to cover her open mouth and nose, but her eyes went up to Mistoffelees's face. He grinned at her and looked down at the necklace where it lay winking in the florescent lights.

A small three-d fairy lay on a bed of white velvet with her arms up over her head which was thrown back. Her wings were constructed from Mother of Pearl and hung behind her loosely. From the fairy's right hand came a small wire, on which was hung six small cubic zirconia.

"She's sorta magical, you see? And she's so beautiful... like you." Jemima touched the fairy's delicate wings in wonder and shook her head.

"You really shouldn't have... but its lovely. I love it. Here, help me put it on." Mistoffelees picked up the fairy from the bed of velvet by the small silver chain it hung on and waited for Jemima to turn around. He looped the chain around her throat and after several missed, managed to steady his paws enough to do up the small clasp. Jemima turned back to her date with a brilliant and innocent smile, reaching up to touch where the fairy now sat. It winked in the light and brought a fresh smile to Misto's youthful face.

"It suits you, I thought it would." Jemima went up on her tip toes and pressed her lips against Misto's already pink-tinted cheek. It turned a shade darker and the black tom's ears pressed back against his head.

"Thank you, Misto. It was very thoughtful of you..." Taking her date's paw, Jemima led him back towards the dance, a warm smile on her face and a flame in her heart.


	32. Part 32

**Part Thirty-Two**

After the dance, Tugger walked with Etcetera close by his side. Her teal-colored eyes were starting to droop and she yawned widely when they arrived at his car. Smiling sheepishly at her boyfriend, Cettie rose up on her tiptoes and kissed Tugger's cheek gently.

"I'm glad you were here, hun. It was lots of fun." The handsome Maine Coon grinned at her and winked. Smoothing the fur on her cheek, Tugger opened the door for her so she could get in.

"Want to go out for supper? Or would you rather take a short nap at my place while I cook up a late snack for us?" Looking sleepy and thoughtful, Etcetera shrugged. She yawned again and looked at Tugger through slitted eyes.

"Food at your place sounds good." With a small smile, the pair pulled out of the crowded parking lot and drove off towards Tugger's place.

Tantomile and Munkustrap stood at the doors, Tantomile looking up at the moon and Munkustrap looking at her. When her sulphur-colored eyes came up and saw him staring at her, the calico's lips curled up into a gentle smile.

"Why are you always so curious and perplexed by me? It is not like I have changed between the times we arrived until this time you are looking at me now." The silver tabby smiled back at her and shook his head; sending his wavy hair flying around his strong face. Tantomile reached up and brushed some stray strands away from the emerald colored eyes and let her fingers linger against his cheek for a second.

"You haven't changed at all, Tant; I just like looking at you. You're so beautiful." Blushing, the calico queen lowered her eyes modestly and smiled. Munkustrap reached down and took her paw gently, giving it a light squeeze and then leading it her towards his car.

"Come on, I'll take you home so you can get some sleep… It's starting to get late." Nodding her head, Tantomile followed Munkustrap and slipped inside his little beat up car.

Victoria, Electra, Plato and Tumblebrutus walked out the doors next, followed closely by Pouncival and Bombalurina. Vicky's eyes were a little swollen and she sniffed delicately, rubbing her nose a little with a Kleenex. It was horrible in her mind that her half-sister had tortured Demeter in such a way that the older queen was so twitchy now. Plato had his arm protectively around the slender white queen's shoulders. Electra glanced at her friend and then up at Tumblebrutus.

"Tumble, can you give me a lift home? I think…" Looking pointedly at Victoria with Plato, Leccy looked back at her boyfriend with a small shrug. Nodding his head, Tumble touched Plato's shoulder gently. The older tom looked over at his friend and smiled grimly.

"We'll see you tomorrow, alright? I'm just going to zip Electra home quickly. Seeya at football practice, guys." Looping an arm around Electra's waist, the patched tom walked out into the parking lot. Bombalurina was watching Vicky quietly and then reached out and grabbed the white queen's paw.

"Things'll be fine, Vicky, really." Sniffing again, the blue-eyed queen looked over at the red-headed queen. Smiling thinly, Vicky pulled her paw free of Bomba's gently and blew her nose. Wiping a tear off her cheek with the back of her paw, Victoria nodded her head.

"Thanks Bomba. I really hope they are… I just feel so bad for Deme." Pursing her lips, Bombalurina slipped to Victoria's side and hugged her gently. Plato glanced at Pouncival, who shrugged, and slipped his paws into his pockets.

"Deme will get over it; especially since she's with Jerrie. As quirky and odd as that tom is, I think he'll be really good for girlfriend there. He's different than any tom she's been with…" Plato cringed a little bit at the hidden spear in the comment, but Bombalurina looked up at him sharply.

"Sorry Plato, that wasn't mean to be insulting. It's just the truth… You were really good for her during that period of her life, now she's moving on and finding out more about herself and what she needs. It's kind of what all of us go through." Looking back at the petite white queen at her side, Bomba gently stroked tears off Victoria's cheeks with her red-tipped nails. The older queen gave Victoria a reassuring hug and then held out her paw to her boyfriend.

"Come on, Pounce. I'm in need of popcorn and a cheesy or funny movie. Got anything at your place?" Smiling gently at his girlfriend, Pouncival nodded. Waving at the pair standing in front of the school, the two walked off towards Bomba's car. Victoria sighed, wrapping her arms around herself and looked up at the moon. Plato regarded her quietly for a second and then went to her; wrapping his arms around her and nuzzling his nose into her soft hair. Sighing gently, Vicky closed her eyes and rested her cheek against Plato's chest.

"Do you think things will be okay with Demeter? This is the second time something related to me has hurt her…" The patched tom drew back and tilted his girlfriend's chin up to look into her face. Tears started to well up in the corners of her clear blue eyes again, but she set her jaw and held them back. One managed to escape down the side of her nose and Plato gently wiped it away.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. One thing I learnt from Deme while we were dating is that she bounces back quickly. This might take a little longer, but you won't have to worry about her blaming you. Your sister was a bitch; I'm sorry to say that, but she really was." Vicky smiled gently and chuckled. Looking up at the moon again, she shook her head.

"Don't be sorry. She really was a bitch. She controlled what I could do and she always encouraged me to be selfish and things like that… I can't believe she could get a job here especially given her style." Grinning at Victoria, Plato squeezed her gently and winked.

"What? Tight and revealing to the point of making toms have heart attacks?" Victoria frowned and growled playfully, squirming out of Plato's arms. She backed up a few steps, sticking her tongue out at her boyfriend.

"Bet you couldn't help but like her breasts literally falling out of her shirt." Raising an eyebrow, Plato looked over his girlfriend and seemed to ponder it for a second. A slow, wicked grin spread across his face and his brown eyes sparkled with mischief. He took a step towards Victoria and she took a step in retreat.

"Plato, go away! Don't touch me!" Squealing with delight, the white queen took off towards the football field, closely pursued by Plato. He caught her halfway across the field, twirling her around and crushing her against his chest in a kiss. Victoria's arms wrapped around his neck and she pressed her body against him.

Jennyanydots and Skimbleshanks watched the dark silhouette of the couple from the window of Skimble's office. Jenny sighed happily and Skimble chuckled. His arm circled Jenny's waist and he nuzzled her cheek gently.

"Aren't they just so darling? Are we like that?" Grinning at the orange toirtoseshell, the orange tabby grinned and nodded. 

"Aye me dahling, we are sometimes."


	33. Part 33

**Part thirty-three**

Weeks later, Jennyanydots was seeing bustling down the halls of the school, waving little hellos to students she knew or that she recognized by face as being regular customers. She had a glow about her that only a pregnant queen could have and she puffed a little as she came to Skimbleshanks' chemistry class. Class was, of course, in session, but Jenny couldn't help but watch through the cracked door as her tom walked around playing with dangerous chemicals.

Skimbleshanks, unaware of the audience, was demonstrating how to heat sulphuric acid. Carefully, he was watching the thermometer with his assistant of the day, Pharrasophatees. Both were wearing large protective goggles and big white lab coats. For extra safety with the chemical they were using, Skimble had gloves on as he wiped some steam off the thermometer.

"Now, if ye let the chemical heat up te beyond 72 degrees, it'll explode in ye faces. I don't want te be takin' anyone te the hospital now, so be careful when yer working with it…" Pharra tugged on her teacher's lab coat, an apparent signal that the chemical was properly heated, and Skimbleshanks quickly whisked the small beaker off the flame. Diligently, the brown-point Siamese carefully turned off the flame, and then the gas.

"Alright, ye'll be doin' a lab on Wednesday about this chemical, so be prepared. Remember te get yer lab sheets filled out, as well as yer hypothesis papers regarding the assignment on the sheet I'll give ye as ye leave. Ye all can pack up now." Moving to his desk, Skimble caught a flash of orange, black and green out of the corner of his eye. Glancing up, he smiled when he saw Jenny chuckling at him. He motioned her inside, and pulled his chair out.

"Now lassie, I'll be right with ye as soon as I get this assignment to me students." He kissed her gently and moved to the door so he could hand out the assignment sheet.

When the last student was out the door, the orange tabby pulled off his goggles and gloves, placing them on the corner of his desk. Easing his hip up on the desk, he regarded his fiancé with a smile.

"Ye always are so beautiful." Smacking his knee gently with a chuckle, Jenny patted her still mostly flat belly, as she was two and a half months along now.

"And you are always as randy as ever. If I didn't think that someone would walk in, I'd have you take me into a supply closet again." Cringing at the memory, Skimbleshanks rubbed the back of his neck.

"Te be perfectly honest lass, I'd take ye on me desk if I didn't think I'd get in trouble again. Old D didn't take too kindly to the rumors going 'round the school about a teacher in the janitor closet." Jenny smiled up at Skimble, tilting her head back and puckering her lips.

"Then how about just a kiss then, love?"

"Aye, I could do that." And he did; a slow, long and sensual kiss. The orange tortoiseshell purred gently as Skimble pulled back and licked her lips.

"You know, that's just playing dirty. Now I want you to bend me over your desk, getting in trouble or not…" Patting her cheek, Skimble winked at Jenny.

"I know me dahlin', but I have to go down to Old D's office and get me some more printer paper. I think I've been killing more than a few trees for me class, but I need te have the assignments and such printed because not all the students copy things down when I put them on the board." Stopping to help Jenny out of the chair, which she protested a little bit, Skimbleshanks pulled her against him and kissed her soundly.

"I'll come by the shop after I'm done for the day. You can close up early and we'll make up for this…" Chuckling, Jenny patted Skimble bum affectionately as they walked to the door.

"Randy old goat…"

Mistoffelees stood with Alonzo, Coricopat and Cassandra, waiting for Jemima to come out of her English class. The smaller black and white tuxedo danced in one place, looking anxiously at the clock every few minutes. Cassandra watched in amusement, but Coricopat and Alonzo seemed to be in a heated discussion; heads together. Pulling back, the lean calico tom seemed mildly disturbed; his ears pressing back against his head and his upper lip twitching. It was one of the only times anyone saw him agitated and it wasn't a good sign.

"I tell you, Tantomile has been very odd lately! It is Munkustrap's doing, and I know it is!" Shaking his head, the black and white tom looked at Coricopat pointedly and shrugged.

"You know I won't be able to change your mind, so why don't you just ask Tantomile what's up?" Snorting, Cori shook his head.

"'What's up' is such a low phrase… we use our intelligence when we are talking, and we do not belittle ourselves by using small catch phrases. It is quite annoying to hear someone walk down the hall and saying something such as 'sup' to other people." Lip quivering in annoyance, Coricopat turned hot sulphur eyes to Cassandra when she cleared her throat. Her blue eyes were hooded, something she did quite well, but her expression was far from pleasant.

"Before you go and basically tell someone that they are unintelligent, you might stop to consider the possibility that your sister does not want you interfering with her life. She is her own person, Coricopat, whether or not you are her twin. I know you love her, just as I love my cousin Exotica, but I cannot run her life because she has a mind of her own. Talk to Tantomile if you wish some answers, but do not take your anger and frustration out on other people." The venom and ice in her tone seemed to get through to Coricopat because he deflated and looked up at Alonzo with a slightly dejected expression on his face.

"Forgive me, Alonzo. I truly meant no insult to you. I must go find Tantomile now…"

"There's Jemima! See you guys later!!!" Mistoffelees shot off, leaving Cassandra and Alonzo against the wall as students started to pour out of classes. Chuckling, the black and white tom gathered the slender Burmese queen against him, nuzzling her cheek.

"Remind me never to piss you off…" With a demure smile on her face, Cass turned blue eyes to her boyfriend.

"Do not piss me off." Kissing her, Alonzo chuckled.


End file.
